Like Father, Like Daughter
by honey-of-heaven
Summary: Summary: Daddy's girl returns... Includes: Eric Bischoff, RVD, Lita, Hardys,Stephanie, Evolution, Edge, Y2J and others...
1. Prologue

Title: Like Father...Like Daughter... Author: Janine E-mail: Steph161085@aol.com Pairing: Lita/? Disclaimer: All characters belong to the WWE and Vince McMahon Rating: 15 (may contain bad language, refers to sex and abuse) Spoilers: Not really Notes: There's still a roster split. Only the women's champion can appear on both shows. Summary: Daddy's girl returns...  
  
~ Prologue ~  
  
The night was young.  
  
Raw was just about to air at Madison Square Garden, as the General Manager, Eric Bischoff, sat defiantly at his office desk, looking through some papers.  
  
He loved being in charge. He loved the power, the money and the women. Speaking of women, he decided, just off the top of his head that he would book a bra and panties match between Stacy and Trish. Why not? He could. He smiled to himself briefly and wondered which wrestlers would come barging into his office, demanding a match tonight.  
  
Bischoff scowled. He hated most of the wrestlers, but had some of them convinced he was on their side. He was good at that. It had been the same way when he'd owned WCW. Pure manipulation.  
  
WCW. Some of the wrestlers from WCW were working for him now. Most of them knew him too well and didn't like him. However, Eric had to keep them sweet so that they wouldn't defect to Smackdown to work for that bitch, Stephanie McMahon.  
  
He hated her too. In fact there was no one Bischoff actually liked. He had never trusted easily and after his wife died he had put all his time and effort into the wrestling business, leaving his baby daughter with a nanny.  
  
His daughter. Okay, so perhaps there was one person in this measly little world that Bischoff loved. Although in her twenties, she would always be his little girl. His little secret that almost no one knew about. But things could soon change. She was out with an injury when Bischoff became GM. But she was due back anytime, and they had never worked together before.ever.  
  
~ End prologue ~ 


	2. The Bitch, is back

~Part 1~  
  
"Bischoff!" A voice interrupted Eric's thoughts. He looked up sternly at the blond, who had just burst through his office door, frowning as he approached the general manager's desk.  
  
"Jericho." Eric said, standing eye-level to the man. It was no secret that Chris Jericho and Eric Bischoff hated each other.but they did tolerate each other, and Bischoff actually had high hopes for the young, cocky, Canadian wrestler.  
  
"What can I do for you Chris?"  
  
"A match!" Chris half asked and half demanded, "against RVD." He spat out the other wrestler's name like you would an incurable disease. Bischoff smirked.  
  
"I'll tell you what Chris.you can have your match, but I like your enthusiasm, so it can be for the intercontinental championship." Bischoff declared, and Jericho was the one who smirked this time.  
  
"I won't let you down Bischoff. You're looking at the next intercontinental champion and soon I will regain my world championship title and prove to you all, exactly why I am the King.of the world!"  
  
And with that, the blond left the office, almost the same way in which he had entered, as Eric rolled his eyes. The Canadian really was a jackass.  
  
The general manager was just about to sit down, when the very woman Bischoff had been thinking about earlier, walked into the room, closing the door behind her.  
  
Eric went to speak, but didn't have the chance, as she slapped him hard across his face.  
  
"That was for my friends!" she yelled angrily, a frown on her face. Bischoff glared at her for a moment. Then he smiled.  
  
"Nice to see you too, gorgeous." He said, pulling the woman into a hug. God, if anyone were to walk in right now.  
  
"Sorry dad, It's just.well I know it was a while ago, but I didn't like the way you treated my friends, they didn't deserve any of the crap you pulled," She sighed as they both sat, either side of Bischoff's desk. "Also I couldn't believe it when you told Three Minute Warning to attack."  
  
"Don't you dare say her name!" Eric yelled, and instantly regretted it at the hurt look that formed on his daughter's face. "I'm sorry honey, It's just.the woman's a bitch that's all."  
  
"Whoa, you a psychic now?" She mumbled, folding her arms, and taking on the image of a sulking child.  
  
"You know what your problem is?" Bischoff shook his head slightly, "you care too much. Whatever happened to my little girl huh? You used to be so.well like me! Then you joined this place and you've changed." Eric finished.  
  
The woman frowned. "I have not changed! I'm still me! I just have friends now."  
  
"Friends?! You call them friends?!" Eric threw his arms in the air in disbelief. "They don't care about you. They never have and they never will."  
  
"That's not true." The young woman said quietly, shrinking in her seat.  
  
"They've hurt you, humiliated you, and they couldn't care less about you when you got injured. They didn't come to visit you. They're not your friends honey. They only care about themselves and their success in this business. Why do you think they want you accompanying them to the ring huh? It's because *you* are the popular one, not them. *They* need *you* not the other way round."  
  
She frowned. He really knew how to argue a point.but maybe there was some truth in what he had said.everything made sense now. She had changed, and she wanted to change back.  
  
Her father was once again in a powerful position, just like before. And just like before, she wanted some of that power. Wanted to be recognised as her own person. Not someone who walked out the Tag team champions, or European champion every once in a while. No.she wanted her own power. She wanted the womens championship title.  
  
"You're right you know. I wish.I wish things were like they were before I had joined the WWE. Before all the lying and pain. Just you and me dad remember? Every man and woman for themselves."  
  
Bischoff smiled. He most definitely did remember. But surely too much had changed since then.  
  
"I don't know sweetie, I mean you're a different person now and I."  
  
"No." She cut him off short, rising from her seat. "I'm very much the same person. I've just been hiding behind a mask these past few years. Anyway, now that you're back in the game and I'm cleared to wrestle again, the mask is coming off. No more sweet innocent little Lita, because Bischoff, the bitch.is back." She smirked, and so did Bischoff.  
  
"Now that's the girl I remember," Eric said proudly, standing to give his daughter a hug.  
  
"I want to start work next week, is that okay?" Lita asked, as the general manager released her.  
  
"That's great. Are you going home or staying in the hotel?"  
  
"No one knows I'm here so I'm going home for the week." She stated. Then looked at her clothes in disgust. "I've got to get out of these combats too.honestly, what was I thinking!"  
  
Bischoff laughed. Oh yeah, his girl was definitely back!  
  
And his plan was working perfectly.  
  
~end part 1~ 


	3. The Game

~ Part 2 ~  
  
Lita walked down a corridor of the Raw arena, smiling to herself. She was on her way to Bischoff's office and she couldn't wait to see him.  
  
As she passed a mirror, she checked her reflection quickly. She looked good. She was wearing her low cut dirty denim jeans with a wide tan belt and tanned boots to match. Her white, long sleeved and cleavage-bearing top, added that extra bit of.class? However, her midriff was bare, revealing her pierced belly button and her famous thong straps were hidden for a change.  
  
Then she looked at her hair. It was no longer red. Instead, it was a mousy brown colour, with some blond highlights and she wore it loose around her shoulders.  
  
Lita continued down the corridor, there was no one around. It was still early.  
  
She stopped at a coffee machine, deciding that as she was passing, then she might as well grab a drink for herself and one for Eric too.  
  
Lita heard laughter behind her and footsteps approaching, but she didn't bother turning around. She didn't care who it was.until she felt the light slap on her ass.  
  
"Hey babe." Came a very self-assured man's voice and it was accompanied by laughter from a second man.  
  
Lita turned around, coming face to face with Tripple H -Great- and sure enough he had Rick Flair with him.  
  
She glared at the man coldly and registered the surprised look on the Game's face, which soon changed to a slightly amused look.  
  
"Well, well, well.If it isn't the lovely Lita." He taunted in a singsong voice. He let his eyes wander up and down the young woman's form, letting them rest comfortably below her neckline.  
  
Lita smirked. She personally thought that the man was good looking, but there was a side to him that could be a sick, perverted, asshole -as many in the WWE found out the hard way- which made the diva feel a little less than comfortable in his presence. She wouldn't let him know that though.  
  
"Lovely?" Lita laughed, "Ha. You don't know me very well, do you H,H,H." She almost purred as this time she let *her* eyes wander up and down *his* well-muscled body.  
  
The Game was quite taken aback by the confidence of the young woman and was impressed to say the least. He already knew she was tough in the ring, and a stunner to look at, but with the diva's whole new look and teasing attitude, he could definitely find some uses for her as part of his dominating team.  
  
Tripple H leaned in closer to the former redhead, and whispered in her ear, "Now that you're back, I hope that I will get to know you *very* well."  
  
Then he turned away, continuing down the corridor with Flair at his side, only pausing once to turn and wink at her, as she watched him leave.  
  
Lita smirked, shaking her head with disbelief.  
  
What the hell was that? She wasn't sure whether to throw up or burst out into a fit of laughter.  
  
Wit till daddy found out.  
  
~ end part 2 ~ 


	4. Plans

~ Part 3 ~  
  
Lita didn't bother to knock; she just walked into Bischoff's office and then froze.  
  
Eric was sitting at his desk, and opposite him sat Terri and Stacy. The two girls turned to look at her when the door had opened and they both developed a surprised look. Lita wanted to laugh at the expressions on their faces, but instead just smiled and spoke.  
  
"Mr Bischoff, I brought you a coffee.if you want I could come back later?" Now Lita wanted to laugh even more at the thought of the two divas thinking that *she* was brown-nosing the boss.  
  
Eric smiled, taking the coffee and gestured to the two women. "No we're just about done here. Enjoy your 'paddle on the pole' match tonight ladies."  
  
Terri smiled slightly at Lita on the way out. Stacy however, gave Bischoff a peck on the cheek, then walked past Lita, looking the woman up and down as though she were nothing.  
  
Lita scowled, slamming the door shut and flopped onto one of the two black sofas, making herself comfortable.  
  
"That creature better not be my new step mother Eric." Lita giggled as she watched her father wipe his cheek, with disgust written all over his face.  
  
"That slut? The only thing she's good for is T&A.actually make that L&A." Bischoff smiled at his daughter, as she chuckled at his comment. He knew that Lita couldn't stand Stacy Keibler, and that was the exact reason he'd put the woman in a humiliating 'gimmick' match tonight. Terri was just an afterthought.  
  
"That was a good one. But I swear, if you ever put me in a 'paddle on the pole' match, or especially in a 'HLA' match, I will put myself up for adoption." Lita grinned.  
  
"I can safely say that I will never put you in a match like those, sweetie, you're too good a wrestler for that." Eric stated.  
  
"Aw thanks daddy." The diva said sweetly and the general manager rolled his eyes. "So what's the plan Eric? Are we going to take out the competition like we did before?" Lita said, her eyes lighting up at the very thought of what had happened to ECW. The look on Paul Heyman's face when he'd had his company go bankrupt, had been priceless.  
  
Bischoff smiled evilly. "ECW had it coming, but a lot has changed since then. Hey, I'm even friends with Paul Heyman now, and I've already got him working on a team that will help destroy Smackdown, from right under Stephanie McMahon's nose and she doesn't even know it." He laughed.  
  
"You mean Team Angle? The Big Show? A-Train?" Lita exclaimed, amazement evident in her voice. "Wow dad! That's great. When are we going to strike?"  
  
Bischoff shook his head, tapping his fingers on his desk. "Not yet. We can't rush into this. We need more wrestlers, and we need more inside information. That's where *you* come in."  
  
Lita frowned for a minute, and then realisation crossed her features. "You want me to pretend to become friends with Stephanie McMahon."  
  
".And pass on any information that may be of relevance to Smackdown or even Raw." Bischoff finished. Everything was working out better than expected. "I have a match for you tonight."  
  
"You do?" the diva said enthusiastically, moving to sit opposite Eric.  
  
"Yeah, an intergender tag match, and there are two titles on the line, so if either you or your partner pin, then you both win titles."  
  
"Um.okay dad, so I know I'm fighting Trish for the womens title, but who are the guys involved in the match?" She wondered aloud, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"It's going to be for the Intercontinental championship, so RVD is teaming with Trish, and well considering that he deserves a rematch, your partner will be Chris Jericho." Bischoff declared and watched as his daughter's eyes widened.  
  
Wow. Chris Jericho huh? She had only ever teamed with him once and they had won then. Although they were friends.no acquaintances back then, way before Jericho had turned into a jackass. King of the world? Isn't that what he called himself now? Great.  
  
"Um.that's great." Lita smiled slightly, "I'd better go get ready."  
  
~  
  
On hearing the diva's words the man hurried away from the door and hid around a corner. He couldn't believe everything he'd just heard. More importantly, he couldn't believe whom he'd just heard those words from. Now all he had to do was decide what *he* was going to do about all of this, if he *could* do anything that was.  
  
~ End part 3~ 


	5. Queen of the World

~Part 4~  
  
Knock, knock! No reply. She tried again. Knock, knock! Still no reply. Once more. Knock kno-  
  
"Come in!" A rather gruff sounding voice answered and Lita opened the locker room door.  
  
He turned around to face his only visitor, running a hand through his long blond hair. There was a look of surprise, annoyance, but also a hint of intrigue, which crossed his stunning features. His blue eyes flickering with suspicion at the same time. Lita was amazed that a man, who always acted so cocky and self-centred, could show so many emotions in just his face alone.  
  
"What do *you* want?" he almost snapped, receiving a harsh look from the former redhead. She walked into the room, closing the door behind her then turned to face him.  
  
"Listen Jericho, king of the assclowns, or whatever it is that you call yourself now, I'm here for one reason, and one reason only, and that's business. You see I just so happen to be your tag-team partner for a very important match, which should result in me becoming the womens champion, and if things go differently, then I'm going to be *very* pissed off, and when I'm pissed off, things get ugly." Lita threatened, the seriousness evident in her hazel eyes, "Understand?"  
  
Chris smirked. Wow, she sure was fired up about something.  
  
"Well, well, well, looks like the little dog has a bark after all." He sneered. Lita frowned. The asshole. How dare he insult her like that.  
  
"Oh there is no dog over here, but there sure is one hell of a bitch standing in front of me." She spat at him, and a look of what you could almost call awe, flashed in his eyes.  
  
"Wow. That was a good one." The Jericho grinned. He wasn't sure what was going on. Lita was *his* tag-team partner? Why wasn't she Jeff's or someone else's? And he wasn't sure where she had developed the new attitude, but he sure as hell liked it. In fact she looked very hot.  
  
"I know." Lita shrugged.  
  
"Huh?" Chris snapped out of his thoughts, "What?"  
  
"Forget it. So are you coming or not, because our match is first up, in like 5 minutes." Lita said, impatiently tapping her foot on the floor and staring at the blond.  
  
"Uh.course." Chris muttered, following the diva out of the dressing room and down the corridor to the ring. This was going to be one hell of a night that was for sure.  
  
~~  
  
1,2,3!  
  
The crowd surprisingly erupted in applause for the new champions, considering that Jericho was a heel. Everyone had been surprised to see Lita and her new appearance, and despite the fact that she was teaming with the 'King of the World', the audience had cheered for her all throughout the match.  
  
However, they weren't the only one's surprised to see her back. She genuinely couldn't wait to see a playback of her match, if only to get another look at Trish and RVD's faces, when *she* was announced as Jericho's partner.  
  
Lita smiled triumphantly. Everything had gone perfectly. While Trish was unconscious on the outside of the ring, -courtesy of a steel chair- Lita had hit RVD with the hurricanrana, setting him up perfectly for the lionsault, by Jericho.  
  
Now she was the woman's champion, and she planned on staying that way.  
  
The referee lifted her arm, along with Chris' in victory. She glanced at Chris. The new intercontinental champion really did look like the King of the World at that moment. Smiling, Lita walked up to the stunning blond Canadian, standing victorious in the middle of the squared circle.  
  
She met his eyes for a brief second, before grabbing a handful of his long hair and pulling him towards her for a kiss. Now Chris really *felt* like the King of the World.  
  
After releasing him, the diva left the ring and walked up the ramp, leaving Chris smirking at her retreating form.  
  
She knew that she would be stirring trouble, that it would get to him, seeing her kissing Jericho like that. What she didn't know, was that it wasn't *just* getting to *him*.  
  
~End part 4~ 


	6. Gossip

~Part 5~  
  
He walked into the locker room where he found one of his team-mates, perching on bench, and rushed to sit down beside the larger man, who nodded his head in a welcoming gesture.  
  
"You'll never believe what I just found out." He said, shaking his head, still in amazement at what he'd overheard. The other man glanced at him and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"What?" He asked curiously, sitting up slightly.  
  
"You know that Lita chick, pretty girl, hangs around with those crazy brothers?"  
  
"Uh.yeah?" The older man gave him a 'just get to the point' look, "What about her?"  
  
He leaned in towards the other man slightly as if the information he was about to tell him was top secret. Well it kind of was in a way.  
  
"Get this, her father is none other than.Eric Bischoff!" he grinned, as one would that had discovered a treasure map. The older man, however, frowned and took on a serious tone.  
  
"Are you sure that's what you heard?"  
  
The younger man fidgeted slightly under the intensity of his friend's gaze.  
  
"Yeah, no doubt about it, and they're planning something.they want to take over Smackdown, well either that or destroy it."  
  
"Are you sure?" The larger man questioned again. He had to be certain that what he was hearing were correct.  
  
"Yeah!" he told him, "Look I'm not deaf, man, I know for sure what I heard." He frowned.  
  
The older man stood and began pacing the room, while his friend stayed seated.  
  
"This is so major! I mean we can use this against Bischoff or even work with him." the younger man continued, excitement gleaming in his eyes, and then a huge smile spread across his face, ".wait till we tell the others."  
  
"No." The older man cut him off, a little more forcefully than he had meant to.  
  
"What? Why not?" The smaller guy said with wide eyes.  
  
His team-mate stopped pacing and glared down at him in a threatening manner.  
  
"Because I said so. Don't argue with me." He said simply.  
  
"But."  
  
"I *said* don't argue with me." The larger man growled, but regretted it slightly when his friend looked hurt. "Look.I'm sorry, I just don't want us to rush into spreading these rumours, in case they cause trouble for us, or even cost us our jobs or something.let's just keep it quiet.for know, okay?"  
  
"Okay." The younger man sighed, disappointedly.  
  
"How about all of us go out later and pick up some chicks.what do you say?"  
  
"I say that sounds like a plan." The younger man suddenly perked up ".but the drinks are on you."  
  
"Okay." The older man smiled, but inwardly frowned.  
  
He knew that he'd have to warn them.  
  
.That he'd have to protect his family.  
  
~End part 5~ 


	7. Bad Losers

~Part 6~  
  
"Did you see what happened?" Trish screamed, storming into the locker room, followed by Rob Van Dam. She was furious. She couldn't believe that Lita would do that to her. She was one of her closest friends.  
  
"Calm down Trish." Rob sighed as he closed the door behind him. Trish whirled round and glared at the man.  
  
"How can you say that! You were there.you saw her hit me with that chair! And anyway, you should pissed too. That.that bitch and Jericho took your title too!" She yelled angrily. She really did envy Rob for his coolness in situations like these. But perhaps he was being a little too calm.  
  
Trish shook her head, then turned to face the other man in the room. "Did you know about this?" She wanted to know, but the man silently shook his head and rose from his chair.  
  
"I didn't even know she was cleared to wrestle." he frowned, but Trish wasn't buying it.  
  
"Jeff, do you really expect me to believe that you didn't know that your 'best friend' and not to mention you brother's girlfriend, was going to start wrestling again?"  
  
"Calm down," Rob said, putting his hand on the young blonde's arm to soothe her. It didn't work however.  
  
"Rob! If you say 'calm down' to me one more time, then I'll kick you so far up the ass, that you'll be choking on my foot!" The diva threatened, and Rob raised his hands in a defensive gesture.  
  
"Whoa there. Look Trish, all I was going to say was that Jeff's telling the truth. He hasn't spoken to Lita in weeks."  
  
"It's true, I haven't. I couldn't get hold of her. I've been having conversations with her answering machine for about four and a half weeks. It was like she had disappeared, and then there she was.I was shocked to see her on television tonight too, Trish. honest." Jeff admitted, shuffling his feet slightly, under the blond diva's hard stare.  
  
Trish looked at Rob, who took a seat on one of the steel chairs and then at the sorrowful looking Jeff Hardy. She knew she wasn't really angry with either of them. She just needed to let out some aggression.and Lita wasn't there just then.  
  
Sighing, the woman sat down next to Rob, and after slight hesitation, Jeff took a seat beside Trish.  
  
"I believe you Jeff, but why would she do that? Why would she turn on us like that?" Trish asked the younger Hardy, who held his head between his hands.  
  
"I don't know." he almost whispered and Trish gave him a concerned look. Jeff truly looked upset, and Trish understood that it couldn't be easy on the young man, after having his own brother turn against him.and now his best friend seemed to be doing the exact same thing.  
  
"Jeff, I hate to say this, but do you think that maybe Matt had something to do with Lita, well. doing what she did?" Trish said softly, and Jeff looked up, "I mean, if you think about it, now that Lita has the women's title, she can appear on both shows and Matt's on the other show so." She trailed off, looking at her hands.  
  
Rob, who had silently listened to what Trish was saying, shook his head slightly. "It's not Matt." He said, and both Jeff and Trish glanced up at the man in surprise.  
  
"What makes you."  
  
"It's not Matt.It's her." Rob stated, cutting Trish off and rising from his seat. Trish frowned, as did Jeff. They glanced at each other worriedly.  
  
"What? What are you taking about?" Jeff was unsure as to what the man was getting at.  
  
"She's back.and she's going to destroy us." Rob said, panic detectable in his usually calm and collected persona.  
  
"Rob, What has got into you?" Trish reached for him, but it was too late, as the man hurriedly left the locker room, with no explanation as to why.  
  
Trish glanced at Jeff, who looked a cross between confused and uneasy.  
  
"What the hell was that?" Trish exclaimed, and the younger Hardy shrugged.  
  
"I don't know.but I'm going to find out." And with that, he too left the room in pursuit of Rob.  
  
Trish stood there for a few seconds, a perplexed expression on her pretty face, not quite sure what to make of Rob's behaviour.  
  
"Oh well." She sighed resignedly, then left the room in search of Jeff.  
  
After all, she didn't want to be left out  
  
~End Part 6~ 


	8. Family

~Part 7~  
  
Lita left Chris' locker room, chuckling to herself and waving as she went.  
  
She strolled down the corridor, humming and smiling despite the fact that her hair was a mess, her lipstick had smeared slightly, and she'd had way too much champagne.  
  
The former redhead had denied Chris and his best friend Christian's invitation for a celebratory night out on the town. She knew she had no time for things like that. She had business to take care of first. Now that she had the women's title, things certainly would be moving fast.  
  
She passed several locker rooms, briefly hearing someone, who she assumed must have been a very pissed off Trish, shouting something about a steel chair. The redhead just smirked in response and carried on walking until she arrived at the canteen doors, and entered. It was surprisingly busy in there, full of wrestlers chatting aimlessly in small groups. Lita noticed how it had quietened down when she'd entered the room and that most of them were staring at her.  
  
There was a small TV monitor in the room, so she figured that they'd all seen the kiss between herself and Jericho.oh well. Currently, however, there was a match on the screen between Booker T and Randy Orton with Rick Flair out at ringside.  
  
Sighing, the woman's champion walked over to the coffee machine and poured herself a cup. She jumped slightly as a large pair of hands rested on her tiny waist.  
  
"Hey babe, did you miss me?" Came a smooth voice that Lita immediately recognised as the Game's. She bit her lip slightly.  
  
"I wasn't aiming for you." She smirked and so did he. She was fiery, and Tripple H loved that.  
  
"So what's it like, playing tonsil hockey with a jackass?" He asked, playing with a lock of her hair. Lita's eyes widened. She should have known he'd come out with something like that, especially as there was no love-loss between himself and Chris Jericho.  
  
"You mean you don't kiss your own kind?" Lita smiled, she'd got him there.  
  
The Game snorted and pressed himself up against her. Lita shuddered, as he lowered his head and placed a single kiss on her neck. The diva was suddenly found herself thankful that they weren't alone in the room.  
  
"Don't worry babe, I'll be seeing you again. Hopefully next time it won't be over a coffee machine. But then again, you know what they say about coffee." He smirked at the woman, a wicked gleam in his eyes as he left the canteen.  
  
Lita let out a deep breath and closed her eyes briefly. That man really was beginning to unnerve her. She turned around and noticed that she was receiving more stares than before. Plastering a smile on her face, she too sauntered out of the canteen.  
  
They could all just think what they like.  
  
~  
  
"Bischoff." The man growled angrily as he stormed in to the general manager's office.  
  
Eric stood from his seat, and glanced at his chief of staff, Sean Morely who also stood.  
  
"What can I do for you?" Bischoff asked, with forced cheerfulness.  
  
"I want to speak to you alone." The man demanded and glanced over at Chief Morely.  
  
Eric was irritated by the man's behaviour but asked Morely to leave anyway, and when he had, he turned his attention back to the man in front of him.  
  
"So what do you want? A match for you and your team?" Bischoff asked again.  
  
"That's not why I'm here and you know it." The man said sternly, somewhat calmed down since Morely left the office.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about. If you don't want anything, then I suggest you leave." Eric glared at him, not caring that the other man was 6'5, 275 pounds and perfectly capable of causing him serious damage.  
  
"I'm talking about your daughter." He informed him, receiving one of Eric's famous dirty looks.  
  
"Lita is no concern of yours, just leave us alone." Bischoff told him. But the man wouldn't hear of it. "Really it's none of your business."  
  
"That's bullshit and you know it!" He yelled slamming both hands on Eric's desk, then taking a few moments to recover his breath. "She was so happy here. Then you arrived, and you're just going to mess up that girls life.just like you did mine."  
  
"If I remember correctly, *you* were the one who came knocking at *my* door. *I* took *you* into my home." Bischoff said, finding himself becoming angered.  
  
The other man looked at him in utter disgust.  
  
"I was twelve years old and had just lost both my parents in a car accident.you and Lita were the only family I had left." He said softly, lowering his eyes ".and you threw me out as soon as I turned sixteen."  
  
"You weren't my son. You weren't my responsibility." Bischoff shook his head, sitting down in his seat. "You know that Lita didn't talk to me for three months after you left.she begged me not to kick you out.but she was only child."  
  
"But not anymore Bischoff. She'll see through you and your lies." The large man said and Bischoff rolled his eyes.  
  
"Are you here for a reason, or just to irritate me?" the general manager sighed.  
  
"I came here to warn you actually," he man told him and Bischoff looked up, nervously.  
  
"Warn me?"  
  
"Yeah, you see I really do care about you.Uncle Eric." the man said snidely.  
  
Eric flinched at the use of the term 'uncle'. He really hadn't heard that in a long time, although he knew that his only nephew was saying it out of spite.  
  
"Cut the crap and tell me what you mean." He ordered and the younger man smirked.  
  
"People know about your plan Eric.I was told earlier and I'm sure others will find out." He said.  
  
"Are you blackmailing me?" Bischoff frowned, clearly not amused. However, the other man looked offended.  
  
"The thought never crossed my mind. I'm not like you. I just wanted to let you know that whatever it is that you're planning to do.do it fast." He said, before walking towards the door.  
  
Bischoff didn't know what to say to that. He hadn't expected any of that to happen.but if people knew about his plans, then he really must act fast. However much he and his nephew hated each other, he was grateful that he'd told him.no not grateful.thankful.  
  
"Oh, Batista?" Eric called out, before the other man left.  
  
"Yeah?" He asked, turning slightly, his hand on the door handle.  
  
Bischoff shook his head.  
  
"Never mind."  
  
~End Part 7~ 


	9. Truth & Lies

~Part 8~  
  
"Oh not this again. Rob, I thought you two were friends now." Bubba Dudley said tiredly.  
  
They'd been through this before, back in ECW. Rob Van Dam had believed that Lita was working for someone who wanted to destroy the company, although it was never proven. Then after the whole WWF/alliance thing, Rob and Lita had become friends, quite good friends.so what the hell was the usually Mr cool, calm and collected up to?  
  
"It explains the way she acted. It was the same way as she did in ECW. Maybe whoever wanted her to help them shutdown ECW, has asked her to do the same thing to RAW." Rob suggested, taking no notice of the winging Dudley, and addressing the others who were all sitting around in the hotel room he was currently sharing with Jeff Hardy. There weren't many of them, just the ones that Rob called friends. Trish, Jeff, all three Dudleys and Tommy Dreamer.  
  
"I don't know Rob, it just all sounds a little too.unbelievable." Trish spoke to him gently, moving to sit beside him and placing a small hand on his shoulder. "She wouldn't do anything like that."  
  
"Like she wouldn't hit you with a chair, cheat you out of your title, and kiss Chris Jericho live on national television?" Rob pointed out, and Jeff flinched slightly at the mention of Lita kissing Jericho. He just couldn't believe he'd seen her do that.and couldn't understand why.  
  
"It doesn't mean she's going to destroy Raw, though." Devon pointed out, taking a swig of his bud.  
  
"Well maybe it's not Raw. Maybe it's Smackdown.or even the whole of the WWE. Think about it. She's got the women's title, so she has access to both shows." Rob said, and glanced at his lifelong friend, Tommy Dreamer. "You believe me, don't you?"  
  
"I don't know what I believe, man. We have no proof." Tommy shook his head, sorrowfully.  
  
Rob rose from his seat and ran a hand through his long hair. "I *know* I'm right guys, and I'll get proof." The man insisted and looked at each wrestler in turn, "You'll all help me right?"  
  
They all hesitated for a few moments, glancing at each other uncertainly. After all Lita was their friend too. But the way she'd acted.there was that slight chance.*slight* chance that Rob could be right.  
  
"I'll help you." Spike Dudley spoke up, to Rob's relief.  
  
"Me too." Trish nodded.  
  
"Okay," Tommy sighed. "But if we find nothing, then we'll leave the girl alone."  
  
Rob nodded in agreement, glad he was finally getting the support. He looked over at the other two Dudleys who didn't look so pleased, but they too nodded.  
  
"Okay Rob, you win, as long as Lita doesn't get hurt." Bubba sighed.  
  
"She won't be hurt. We just need to find out who she's working for." Rob reassured them.  
  
The room quietened for a moment. Then Rob turned to Jeff. "What about you? You in?" he asked. Everyone turned to look at the youngest Hardy, who frowned in response.  
  
"No." He said simply. He really couldn't believe they were doing this. "Lita's my best friend, and just because she was acting a but strange for one day, you're going gang up on her like this? You're supposed to be her friends." Jeff finished, disappointment lacing his every word. The room quietened once again, and Jeff decided that he'd had enough.  
  
"I'm out of here." The young Hardy said, before he left the room, the others just watching him go. Trish got up to go after the man, but Rob stopped her.  
  
"Let him go. We have more important thing to worry about.like our careers." He sighed.  
  
"We still don't know for sure though do we." Trish responded and Rob put his hand on the woman's shoulder.  
  
"We will find proof, I know it."  
  
~  
  
"Yeah.okay.you too.love you.bye." Lita hung up the phone and buried her head in her pillow. She was tired. Unlike everyone else at Raw, she hadn't gone straight to the hotel.well not their hotel. Instead, she'd driven for two hours, to another hotel.the one that occupied the Smackdown talent.  
  
She glanced at the other bed in the room curiously. When she had arrived, the hotel receptionist had informed her that they were low on rooms, and that everyone in the WWE had been doubled up with a roommate, and Lita had been so tired that she had forgotten to ask who she'd be with.  
  
However, after an hour and a half, Lita's room ate had still failed to show, and it was nearing the 2am mark. They hadn't even dropped off their things.  
  
Suddenly, the diva sat up as she heard the door to the room open, and she stood to greet the person as they entered. She smiled deviously as she realised who it was. It was just perfect.  
  
"Hi Steph." Lita smiled, as the wheels in her head began to turn. Steph looked up, slightly surprised. Lita had been the last person that she'd expected to share a room with, especially as she was technically Raw talent.  
  
"Hey Lita." Steph said, putting her things down and entering the bathroom. A few minutes later, she came out, clad in her nightwear and flopped down on her bed. Lita watched the younger woman, and noticed that she seemed to be upset about something.  
  
"Are you okay Steph?" the former redhead asked, concern in her voice.  
  
"Yeah I'm fine." The brunette replied, unconvincingly. Lita moved over to Steph's bed and sat down on the edge.  
  
"No you're not. Sweetie, if there's something wrong then you can tell me. Maybe I can help?" The diva spoke. She really was a great actress.  
  
Stephanie sighed and shook her head. She sat up and smiled at Lita slightly. She did feel a little uncomfortable, as she and the woman had never really been friends and she knew that it was mostly her own fault rather than Lita's.  
  
"You can't. Nobody can help me." The brunette almost whispered, as her blue eyes moistened with tears. She looked so helpless and innocent.  
  
"Honey, nobody can help you if you don't tell them what's wrong.is it a man?" Lita hesitated for a moment, then put an arm round Stephanie to comfort her. The young woman gulped and looked down at her hands.  
  
"I.yes, it's a man." She admitted, shame in her voice. Now the tears were falling freely. She really didn't know why she was confessing all to Lita, but it felt good to let it all out.  
  
"What did he do to you?" Lita frowned. She couldn't help but feel genuinely concerned for the usually headstrong woman, who was now sobbing against her shoulder.  
  
"It wasn't what *he* did.we both did.on the night of the Royal Rumble.we were drunk and we.it was only one stupid night!" Steph yelled the last part angrily and Lita pursed her lips, thinking she might know where the brunette was heading with this.  
  
"You're pregnant." The former redhead stated more than asked and hugged Stephanie, who burst into a fresh set of tears. After a few moments the brunette glanced up at Lita, and wiped her eyes.  
  
"Nobody knows.and I want to keep it that way. Until I start showing, then nobody has to know a thing."  
  
"You're keeping the baby?" Lita questioned, obviously surprised.  
  
"I can't get rid of it. It's a baby.and it has a right to live." Steph said, taking a deep breath.  
  
"And the father? What about him?"  
  
Steph shook her head and lay back down on her bed. The last thing she needed was the father to find out.she had enough problems with him already, let alone a baby to add to the mix.  
  
"He can't know.god Lita, I hate the man. None of it should have happened.we were just both there and." The Smackdown general manager took another deep breath and looked at the other woman.  
  
"Um.Steph? Who is the father?" Lita asked, curiosity getting the better of her, although she had a terrible feeling about this one.  
  
Stephanie looked down again. She knew she shouldn't say anything.but she needed to tell someone...Lita was there, and it wasn't as though *she* was close to the father at all.Lita was a good woman, and he was an asshole.plus he was only the diva's boss.  
  
"Eric Bischoff." Stephanie breathed.  
  
~End Part 8~ 


	10. To The Ring

Lita was daydreaming as she sat alone in the women's locker-room,  
  
with only the TV monitor to keep her company.  
  
She wasn't scheduled for a match that evening and so had decided to  
  
wear her denim mini-skirt, fishnets and boots, with a red off the  
  
shoulder top. Her copper hair was pulled half up, and the rest hung  
  
in loose curls around her shoulders.  
  
She looked fantastic, especially after all the news she had received  
  
on the night before last.  
  
Stephanie McMahon was pregnant with Eric Bischoff's child. Lita  
  
shuddered at the thought, closing her eyes and putting her head in  
  
her hands. She hadn't spoken to her father yet.and she didn't really  
  
want to.maybe it was better if he didn't know.maybe.  
  
Lita got up and left the room, with only one destination in her mind.  
  
she had to talk to Stephanie. She turned a corner in the wide  
  
corridor, and collided headfirst with a tanned chest, causing her to  
  
fall harshly to the ground.  
  
"Watch it!" she yelled angrily, and then her heart instantly softened  
  
as she looked up into Edge's surprised grey/green eyes. He smiled at  
  
her and helped the diva to her feet.  
"Hey there, I'm sorry I didn't mean to hurt you."  
  
Lita gave him a glance over.he certainly was sight to behold, clad in  
  
his wrestling tights and muscular bare chest. She shook her head  
  
slightly to rid her of her wicked thoughts. She couldn't feel like  
  
that towards the man.not anymore.not since her injury.not since.  
  
"How have you been? I like the hair." Edge spoke up, still smiling  
  
at her.honestly, the man never stopped.  
  
Lita frowned, and narrowed her eyes.  
  
"What do you care?" She snapped and wiped that gorgeous smile off his  
  
face.  
  
"Uh.I." Edge stammered, surprised by his friend's anger towards him.  
  
He was sure that he hadn't done anything to upset her. Well if you  
  
don't count knocking her on her ass.but that was an accident.  
  
"Forget it." Lita spat, pushing past the tall blond Canadian and  
  
walking down the hall, leaving him standing there, speechless. She  
  
didn't have time to stand around chatting with Edge. Not when there  
  
were much more important things on her mind.  
  
She knocked on the general manager's door and waited till Steph  
  
answered.  
  
Lita stepped inside the office and scanned the room. Steph was  
  
standing behind her desk, looking pretty irate and opposite her stood  
  
Paul Heyman and Kurt Angle.great.  
  
"Hey Lita, don't worry, Paul and Kurt were just leaving." The  
  
brunette glared at the two men, who took the hint and began to walk  
  
out. Paul winked at Lita as he passed, and she couldn't help but  
  
wonder what they'd been talking about.  
  
Once the door had shut, Lita took a seat at the desk and shot the  
  
other woman a sympathetic smile. Deep down, she really did feel  
  
sorry for her.  
  
"Hey Steph, how are you doing?" She asked, glancing at Stephanie's  
  
stomach, pushing aside the thought that the baby inside was  
  
technically her little brother/sister, as well as being her.  
  
"Actually Lita, I'm feeling so much better today, thanks to you,"  
  
Stephanie grinned and ran over to Lita, linking arms.  
  
"Um.I really didn't do anything."  
  
"Yes you did. You listened to me and you were there for me when I  
  
needed someone. Plus you didn't judge me, or tell me I was stupid or  
  
anything.and I'm grateful." Stephanie spoke, and the former redhead  
  
fidgeted uncomfortably.  
  
"I have a surprise for you," Steph added excitedly.  
  
"Yeah?" Lita said uneasily as the brunette practically dragged her  
  
from the room and down the corridor, "Where are we going Steph?"  
  
Stephanie laughed.  
  
"To the ring of course!" 


	11. Um Surprise?

"So where's Dave gone exactly?" Hunter asked, as he took a swig of his beer and turned on the TV, just in time for the beginning of Smackdown.  
  
It was the same each week. The four members of Evolution would meet at Rick Flair's hotel room, and watch the matches for the other show, against the orders of their 'wonderful' boss Eric Bischoff. However, tonight they were two men short.  
  
"He said that he had to take care of some family problems or something." Flair told the Game, who arched an eyebrow.  
  
"I didn't know he had any...family that is,"  
  
"Neither did I." Rick shrugged, not really bothered in the least, "And Randy's at home injured at the moment.What a team." He added and Tripple H smirked.  
  
"Was that sarcasm I heard there Rick?" He grinned.  
  
"Hunter, if you want sarcasm then why- .well, well, well .look who's just graced us with her presence." The Nature Boy said, referring to the miniature Stephanie McMahon appearing on the TV.  
  
"Great." The Game muttered sourly at the site of his ex-wife. He really couldn't stand the slut.  
  
"Wonder what trouble that bitch is going to cause this time." Flair smirked and so did Hunter. They both knew what the youngest McMahon was capable of, once she put her mind to it. She was bitch to the bone, and once you were on her bad side, she would make you pay for it, by any means possible.  
  
They watched as the Smackdown General Manager waltzed down the ramp and to the ring, a satisfied look on her face.one that usually meant trouble for whomever was involved.  
  
"Tonight is going to be a Smackdown like no other!" She declared, smiling triumphantly at the crowd, "And I'd like to start it off by introducing you all to the new women's champion.Lita!" Stephanie made a gesture towards the ramp with her arm, as the crowd roared in delight at the mention of the diva.  
  
"Well if it isn't our fiery little friend." Rick glanced at Tripple H, who's expression grew serious. He just knew that Stephanie was up to something. Something that wouldn't be good for the other woman. The same woman that he wanted to join his team.  
  
They watched the screen more intently than before, as the stunning diva made her way to the ring and stood before Stephanie.  
  
"Lita. Thank you for joining us on Smackdown tonight...." Stephanie smiled, and Lita eyed her curiously, offering the brunette a small smile of her own.  
  
Stephanie turned round and looked at the cheering crowd, then suddenly her expression changed into a scowl as she turned back to face Lita.  
  
Hunter cringed at the look on her face.  
  
".However. Maybe you should have just stayed on Raw. I mean after all, you *do* work for Eric Bischoff right? Isn't that why you're here? As a mole?" Stephanie spat, and the former redhead frowned. This was going to be bad. Lita knew it, and the now booing crowd knew it too.  
  
"Damn that woman!" Hunter swore angrily; as he listened to Tazz make some crude comment about Lita 'pissing off' the boss.  
  
"Should have seen it coming H." Rick sighed, "My only thought, is what the hell is she going to do next?"  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about Stephanie." Lita said defensively.  
  
"Oh I think you do. You see, Eric Bischoff isn't the only one who has mole working for him.I have one too." The General Manager gave her a satisfied smirk, "Except the difference is, that no one knows who *my* mole is."  
  
The crowd booed some more and a few chants of 'slut' could be heard. Tripple H smirked. The brunette deserved that.  
  
"I'll tell you one thing though.he's good at what he does. See, he found out a few things while he was on Raw. A few things about *you* Lita. About your little plan...." Stephanie glared at the women's champion coldy. ".Oh don't worry about Heyman and his lackeys. They will get just what they deserve all in due time."  
  
Lita swallowed nervously. Shit. This wasn't supposed to happen. Stephanie's so-called mole must have overheard her conversation with Bischoff. So then she must know about.  
  
".And I know about your little family secret too." Stephanie stepped closer to the former redhead as the two women proceeded to glare daggers into each other. Then Lita stepped back, suddenly remembering something.  
  
"What about the baby Steph?" Lita said quietly, thankful that the crowd couldn't hear.  
  
The Smackdown Manager laughed then spoke, equally as softly as Lita had done, lowering the microphone she was holding.  
  
"What baby?" She watched as a bewildered frown formed on the diva's face. "Don't you get it Lita? I *knew* you were going to join us straight from Raw, and I *knew* which room you had."  
  
"How.?"  
  
"Let's just say a little mole told me. .Anyway, I was going to confront you right then, but I guess I thought I'd have a little fun first. You're just so gullible Lita.I mean, even if I was pregnant -which I'm not, I'd like to add- then why the hell would I tell you?"  
  
Lita's blood was literally boiling. She wanted more than anything to slap that satisfied smirk off of Stephanie's face, and she would have done just that, had Stephanie not spoken into the microphone.  
  
"You forget one thing Lita. This is *my* show, and my wrestler's don't want their jobs endangered by the likes of you." She sneered and averted her eyes to something behind Lita. Or someone.  
  
The Game cursed the TV set as he helplessly watched Brock Lesner, The Undertaker and Rikishi, walk briskly towards the ring. The former redhead looked horrified as three of the biggest guys on Smackdown approached her, obviously intending to do some damage to the women's champion.  
  
"Run Dammit!" Tripple H yelled, and as if hearing him, she turned to leave.coming face to face with Matt Hardy.her so-called boyfriend.  
  
He looked pissed, and Lita wasn't about to take any chances. She kicked him, as hard as she could between the legs and ran, through the crowd and out into the parking lot. She stopped running, breathing hard, unsure of where to go next. She had left her rental car at the hotel, accepting Stephanie's offer of a lift. Oh that bitch had thought of it all.  
  
Lita turned at the sounds of yelling, just in time to see three guys in the distance. It looked like the three members of the FBI. Full Blooded Idiots as far as she was concerned. But regardless of what she thought of them, they seemed to be after her too, and she had to get away somehow.  
  
"Shit, she's trapped." Hunter put his head in his hands, wishing he had a sledgehammer, so that he could bash something.anything.  
  
"No she's not. Look." Flair told him, seeing a black car with tinted windows, pull up beside the woman, the door opening in a hurry.  
  
The diva peeked into the car and smiled with relief, jumping inside without a second thought. Then the car pulled away at top speed.  
  
Hunter sighed with relief, as the camera now focused on a match between Edge and Billy Kidman. He really didn't know why Lita was affecting him that way. Hell, he didn't even know her that well! But he did know that she was beautiful, strong and worthy of being part of Evolution.  
  
Together, they could pay back that witch Stephanie for the stunt she pulled that night. Lita had a lucky escape. Although he couldn't help but wonder who helped her.  
  
Who was in that car? 


	12. The Morning After

RVD, Trish, Tommy Dreamer and the Dudley's were all sitting in surprise after the events they'd just witnessed on Raw. None of them had suspected that to happen. Lita? A mole for Eric Bischoff? That sure was an interesting development.  
  
"So Lita's working with Bischoff..." Tommy stated the obvious, glancing around at his friends, who were all scattered around his hotel room.  
  
"Wow, who'd have guessed.and what was that about Heyman? That bit doesn't add up?" Trish frowned, shooting Rob a look.  
  
"I know what you mean. It sounds like he's in on it." Rob shook his head. This whole thing was confusing. He'd honestly thought that when Stephanie had called Lita out, it was because *she* was the one that the former redhead was working for.  
  
"Yeah, and what doesn't make sense is why Heyman would team up with Bischoff and Lita, if they were the ones who put ECW out of business." Trish wondered aloud.  
  
"Well this is Heyman we're talking about, don't forget." Devon pointed out, and the diva nodded.  
  
"True." She said, knowing full well that the former ECW owner, did anything and everything he could to benefit himself alone.so working with the enemy was no problem whatsoever.  
  
Why would Li do that? Work with that asshole after everything he's put us through. And then there's Jeff." Spike broke off, opening a fresh can of soda.  
  
There was silence for a moment.  
  
"We have to do something," Rob declared, standing up from his seat on the bed. He began pacing, as the others looked up at him, unsure of what he was going to suggest.  
  
"You all saw what Stephanie tried to do to Lita tonight, " Rob ran a hand through his long hair, "She turned everyone against her.Lesner, Undertaker.even Matt Hardy the girl's own boyfriend!"  
  
"What are you saying?" Bubba asked, frowning ever so slightly.  
  
"That this whole mess, will probably result in a battle. No make that a war, between Raw and Smackdown," Rob told his friends who sent him sceptic glances, "Think about it guys. Eric Bischoff would want revenge for what happened to his 'mole' on Smackdown, and he'll probably be determined to find out who Stephanie's mole is. Which means we'll all probably be interrogated."  
  
"What can we do though." Trish sighed, racking her brain for a plan.an idea.anything that could help them, "I could try to talk to Lita on Raw," she decided.  
  
"Are you sure that's wise?" Tommy asked, looking down at the small blond diva.  
  
"It's worth a shot."  
  
~  
  
"For the last time, I am fine.I'm at the hotel.with Raw.Batista brought me here.If it wasn't for him, then I hate to think what would have happened last night.I'm not rooming with anyone.no don't come here.don't.okay.I love you too.bye."  
  
Lita sighed as she hung up the phone, lying back down in bed. It was early and she was so tired. She'd had a lucky escape last night, thanks to her cousin, and after picking up her bags from the hotel, they had driven miles to catch up with the Raw roster. She was safe now.and hungry.  
  
She groaned as she lazily climbed out of bed, cursing the sun for blinding her as it streamed in through her hotel room window.  
  
After showering and pulling on some jeans and a t-shirt, the diva studied herself in the mirror. She knew she was attractive, that went without saying. There was just one thing she hated about herself more than anything.her long wavy mousy-brown locks. She was just never satisfied when it came to her hair colour. She hated red.hated brown.hated copper.and would never go blond. She giggled as she thought about her father's jet-black head of hair. Many people thought it was dyed.but it was his natural colour.it was her natural colour. She laughed some more, as the thought of asking Rico for styling tips, briefly entered her mind.honestly she didn't know where that man got his ideas from.  
  
Glancing at her watch, the diva noted that it was 8:30am. Luckily she hadn't missed breakfast. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and left her room, shoving her keycard in the back pocket of her jeans.  
  
As she walked to the dining hall, a few floors down, she knew that the place would be packed full of Raw superstars. Bischoff tended to rent out a whole hotel, so that no one got hassled by fans. She wondered whether many of them would be talking about what happened on Smackdown. Although they weren't supposed to watch the show, most of them -if not all of them- did, and Bischoff knew that. Hell, he even watched the show himself.  
  
Taking deep breath, she pushed open the door to the dining hall and scanned the room. Sure enough it was crowded. There were only a few empty tables. Ignoring the stares, the former redhead grabbed some breakfast from the buffet and took it to an empty table in the corner of the room.  
  
As she ate, Lita watched all the wrestlers sitting and chatting in their little groups, wondering which one of them was Stephanie McMahon's so called 'mole'.  
  
Three Minute warning and Rico were happily chatting away together. Booker T, Goldust, Shawn Michaels and Kane occupied another table. There was Stacy and Test getting cosy in the corner.  
  
One rather large group that did catch her eye, were RVD, Trish, Tommy Dreamer and the Dudleys. They couldn't have made it more obvious they were talking about her, throwing glances her way every five seconds. There was one thing that stood out in Lita's mind though.where was Jeff Hardy? Wouldn't he usually be sitting with them? A sudden thought struck Lita -what if Jeff was the mole? - But the diva quickly pushed that idea from her mind. There was no way Jeff would do that to her, even if she was working with Bischoff. In fact she hadn't spoken with the youngest Hardy for months.  
  
Turning away, she saw her father talking with Sean Morley and Lance Storm. He hadn't seen her, luckily. She wasn't in the mood for a lecture about what happened last night. He was bound to be pissed off.  
  
Turning once more, she caught the eye of another wrestler. She shot him a smile, which was returned by a discreet nod, trying not to make it make it obvious to his team mates that he had anything to do with Lita. She couldn't help feel a twinge of hurt at the gesture, but understood from Batista's point of view. He was trying to protect her, not just from Tripple H and Flair, but from everything.he was like that.he cared too much.  
  
The former redhead sighed, as she suddenly felt lonely. She shot another glance towards Batista's table, but instead of catching her cousin's eye, she caught the attention of The Game, great. She shuddered slightly, under the intense stare of the man that was nicknamed the 'cerebral assassin', and found it difficult to read the expression on his face. - It was dangerous, yet somewhat enticing. She hated to admit it, but the man disturbed her. there was just something not quite right about him.  
  
Failing to shake those thoughts from her mind, Lita almost had a panic attack, when Tripple H stood and began walking towards her. Shit.Now what?  
  
"Hey hotcakes, mind if we join you?" Came a lively voice from behind her and she was relieved to see Jericho and Christian standing there, with full plates in their hands.  
  
She shot a glance over to Hunter, who had diverted his path to the buffet table, but he didn't once take his eyes off her.  
  
"Not at all, take a seat." She smiled brightly at the two blond Canadians and gestured for them to sit. "What's up guys?"  
  
Christian smirked and raised his eyebrows; "Maybe we should be asking you that sweetie."  
  
"What do you mean?" Lita frowned, defensively and took a sip of her orange juice.  
  
"Smackdown was quite a show last night, don't you think?" Jericho sneered, snatching her drink away and downing the lot himself. The former redhead just rolled her eyes, ignoring the man's actions.  
  
"Actually I thought Smackdown kind of sucked." Lita scowled and Christian nodded slightly.  
  
"I totally agree. That Stephanie McMahon is totally gonna pay for what she tried to do to you." He said. Lita looked the blond man over. She truly didn't see how he and Edge could be brothers.they were so different. Christian was temperamental, conniving and sometimes judgmental, whereas Edge was compassionate, courteous and modest. Shaking all thoughts of Edge from her mind, the woman's champion glanced over to Chris Jericho.now there was a jerk when you saw one.  
  
"Yeah she will," Lita sighed, then cringed "Chris, have you been drinking? You stink of booze,"  
  
"You see Christian, that's the exact reason why I broke up with my ex," Jericho drooled and Christian sniggered.  
  
"He's drunk." The other blond pointed out. Lita glared at Jericho incredulously.  
  
"You're pissed at 8:40am.unbelievable. What did you do, accidentally go to the *bar* for breakfast?" the diva quipped, a small smile forming on her face. Chris smiled too.  
  
"Actually he spent all night in the bar. I left him there all night, and found him there this morning." Christian sniggered, and Lita shook her head, laughing. She looked around the room, noticing that some of the tables had cleared. Trish and her little group of guys had left, so had Bischoff.damn. She needed to talk to him. He would probably be at the arena, sorting out matches and stuff for the upcoming Raw. She didn't have a car and she needed to be there, so.  
  
"Hey guys, what do you say that we finish up and head over to the arena. Maybe you two could teach me some new moves. That is, only if you want to," she purred seductively, biting her lower lip in a fashion she knew that no man could resist.  
  
"Yeah, definitely," Jericho nodded eagerly.  
  
"Sure," Christian mocked his friend and the woman grinned.  
  
"Come on then, we'll have fun." Lita chirped, as the three of them left the hotel. 


	13. Plan B

Finally Lita had managed to ditch both Christian and Jericho, leaving them arguing endlessly with Shawn Michaels and Booker T about who had the best finishing moves. Honestly. Men.  
  
There were quite a few other wrestlers hanging around, some in the gym, some in the locker rooms or practising in the ring.  
  
She, however, didn't have time for that. She had to speak with her father. When she'd seen him earlier in the hotel dining room, Eric had looked angry and she hadn't wanted to approach him like that, especially in a room full of people.  
  
Stopping at Bischoff's office, Lita frowned when the door was opened allowing Sean Morley and Lance Storm to leave the room. They both stepped past her and walked down the corridor, tag team title belts in hand, not bothering to acknowledge her presence. The jerks, especially 'Chief' Morley. She didn't trust him as far as she could throw him, unlike Eric, who was convinced that the man was some sort of gift from god! Lita snorted. As if.  
  
Eric Bischoff glanced up from his seat, as the current women's champion entered the room. She offered him a small smile, and silently sat down on the sofa next to his. He placed his head in his hands, keeping himself calm, while deep down inside he was furious. Not at his little girl, but at the Smackdown GM. There was only one thing, racking his brain at the moment.one word.revenge.  
  
"Uh.Stephanie knows that you're my father." Eric frowned at Lita's words, ".the mole told her." Lita sighed. She watched as the bitter man responded to what she'd told him, by standing, walking over to his desk, and slamming both hands down onto it, causing her to jump slightly.  
  
"Shit!" he swore as he began to pace the room, with one hand behind his back and the other on his chin. A habit that Lita had noticed he did whenever he was up to something. And the man was usually always up to something.  
  
"What are we going to do about this?" Lita asked, and she frowned at the sudden ringing noise that filled the room.  
  
Her mobile. Great timing. She glanced at the phone, making a note of the caller in her head, and then cancelled the call.  
  
"Sorry." She muttered, although Eric hadn't seemed bothered. "Anyway, as I said, what are we going to do about this mess? There is no way I am going to be friends with Stephanie McMahon now!" she added, scoffing at the mention of the brunette's name.  
  
Eric suddenly stopped pacing, and smiled. Lita rose a curious eyebrow at Bischoff's actions. This ought to be good.  
  
"I'll tell you exactly what we are going to do. We are moving onto 'Plan B'." he told her, his smile widening as he grabbed some papers from his desk and began to look through them.  
  
"Which is?" Lita urged him to continue. She hated it when he spoke to her in riddles. She had no idea what this 'Plan B' was, and wanted to find out.  
  
"Sorry honey I can't talk now, I have business to attend to." He declared, continuing to sort through his papers. Lita just stared at him in disbelief.  
  
"Dad? I have to know the plan. I mean, what am I supposed to do now?" The former redhead frowned.  
  
"Just do what your best at.stay the women's champion.round up some allies, like I saw you doing with Jericho and Christian in the dining hall this morning." He sighed.  
  
"Uh.but what about the mole?" Lita reminded him. She really did hate being left in the dark about this so-called 'plan'.  
  
"All taken care of in the plan."  
  
"But." She protested, but The GM cut her short.  
  
"Sweetie, if you don't mind, I'd like to get to work." he gestured to the papers and picked up the phone.  
  
Lita scowled, but left the room, swearing softly when she heard him ask for Paul Heyman over the receiver. So Bischoff would tell the plan to an asshole like Heyman, but not to his own daughter! Damn him. 'Just do what your best at' isn't that what he'd said? She smiled to herself. That's exactly what she intended to do.even if her 'daddy' didn't like it in the least.  
  
The diva found an empty locker room, and sat down inside. Taking her phone from her pocket, she dialled his number from memory.  
  
"Hi.sorry about earlier, I was talking to my father, you know how he can be.uh-huh.Anyway, I've changed my mind now.Let's move onto your plan.yeah.'Plan B'."  
  
~  
  
The man didn't bother knocking as he stepped inside the office, and walked over to the desk, trying to catch the busy man's attention.  
  
"What do you want?" Vince McMahon almost snapped. He hated being interrupted while working.  
  
"Sorry to disturb you, but I need you to sign this." He held out the papers at arms length. Vince frowned, continuing with his own work as he spoke.  
  
"What are they?"  
  
"The documents to sign Mr America to the WWE." He informed the grey haired man.  
  
Vince raised a curious eyebrow at that. "I thought Stephanie had those?" he asked, and the younger man shrugged.  
  
"Yeah, well, you know what she's like. Always busy. Asked me to do her a favour and hand these to you to sign." He said simply and Mr McMahon sighed.  
  
"Well just leave them here and I'll do it later."  
  
"No can do. Stephanie wants these signed and back to her immediately. She doesn't want to give Bischoff a chance to collar him for Raw." He continued to hold out the papers, silently thanking god when Vince took them, because his arms were beginning to ache. He pointed to where the WWE owner had to sign and Vince hurriedly did so, not giving the contract a second glance. He didn't have the time.he was too busy.  
  
The man smiled slightly when he took back the papers, and then, after thanking Vince, he proceeded to make his way out of the room.  
  
"Wait a minute." Mr McMahon called out, and the younger man held a breath.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Next time, tell Stephanie that if she wants any contracts or documents signed for business, then she must come to me herself, and not bother you when you have your own work to do." He informed the young man who smiled with relief. That was close.  
  
"I'll tell her that," he said on the way out closing the door shut behind him.  
  
He leaned against the wall outside and took out his mobile phone, dialling the number and speaking into the small device.  
  
"I got it." he said, not bothering with a hello, as he'd just spoken to her a moment ago, ".Yeah sweetie.'Plan B' has started." 


	14. Meanwhile

It had been a long, tiring day for the Smackdown General Manager, and she was glad to be back at her hotel room, and able to finally relax.  
  
Last night at Smackdown, had been brilliant. Her mole had really done an excellent job. Also, every wrestler that she'd asked.or told to back her up had done so, with the exception of Edge. She'd have to deal with him later. Even Matt Hardy had been more then happy to put his hands on Lita, and Stephanie couldn't help but feel smug about that one.  
  
The only downfall of the night, was the fact that Lita hadn't actually been hurt. She had escaped in some cheap car that had to belong to someone on Raw- if only for his or her own safety. Then the brunette scowled. If she ever did find out that someone on her roster had helped out the little skank, then she would make them wish they had never been born.  
  
However, right now she had bigger fish to fry. Fish that went by the names of Paul Heyman, Kurt Angle and his little team, plus the Big Show and A- Train. She couldn't believe that they would work for that ingrate Eric Bischoff, instead of her. How dare they defy Stephanie McMahon?  
  
She would make them suffer. All of them. But she wouldn't fire them. That could benefit Bischoff, in the sense that he would just hire them for Raw, giving him the bigger Army at the PPV. She'd almost forgotten about the upcoming event.'Judgement Day'.  
  
This event would indeed be Bischoff 's and his little brat's judgement day when she, Stephanie McMahon would destroy them and destroy Raw.for good.  
  
It was war.  
  
~  
  
Lita rubbed her eyes sleepily, as she used the spare keycard to open her hotel room door.  
  
After getting a lift back from the arena by Jericho and Christian, she had realised that sometime between the moment she had left the room in the morning, and right then in the hotel lobby, she had lost her keycard. Jericho had demanded a spare from the clerk at the desk and then the trio had walked four floors before saying their goodnights.  
  
As she made her way into the room closing the door behind her, she suddenly noticed him sitting there, on the edge of her neatly made bed. She felt a shiver run up her spine, as he looked up at her and smirked.  
  
"I was wondering when you'd show up," he said, and Lita frowned, not daring to move an inch.  
  
"How did you get in here?"  
  
The man held up a keycard and grinned. "Yours?" he sneered at the young woman, "It fell out of your pocket after breakfast."  
  
Lita walked over, took the keycard and made sure there was distance between the two of them once again.  
  
"Thanks for returning it," she said, and crossed her arms protectively across her body. He just stared at her for a few moments, and the diva felt extremely awkward. Why couldn't he just leave?  
  
"Was there anything else you wanted?" she asked, hoping he'd get the hint and go.  
  
"Actually yeah," he stood and moved towards her. Lita inched away a little, until her back was up against a wall and there was nowhere else to go. This really wasn't good. She now wished that she'd accepted Christian and Jericho's offer to walk her directly to her room. Although she didn't trust those two, she did trust them a hell of a lot more then she trusted this man.  
  
"What's that?" she said softly, looking up at the large man, who was standing so close to her that she could feel his breath on her face.  
  
"You." He said simply and Lita felt as if her throat had sunk into her stomach. That was really the last thing she had wanted to hear him say.  
  
"Hunter." she began, but he cut her off by placing one finger onto her lips.  
  
"I want you in my team. I want you Lita, to be a part of Evolution. Together we would dominate Raw. Me as the World Heavyweight Champion. You, the Women's Champion. Batista and Randy will soon dominate the tag team division. And we'll have the legend Rick Flair behind us all the way. Come on Lita, what do you say?"  
  
Lita contemplated the idea, after all, Evolution was a very powerful team and now she had a chance to be a part of that. Power was something she loved to have. Even if she weren't too keen on Tripple H, she would always have Batista there to protect her.  
  
Then there was Bischoff, who she knew would hate the idea, as he hated both Flair and Hunter. Oh yeah, he would be pissed off all right, and she was going to love making him squirm. After all hadn't he been the one who said to 'round up some allies'?  
  
"Okay." Lita nodded, and watched as the Game's smile grew. Then he moved his head down closer to hers, and the diva held a breath, knowing he was going to kiss her and there was not a damn thing she could do about it. He was so much larger and stronger than she was. She instantly regretted making the decision to join him right away, while they were alone together. She should have told him that she'd think about it or something.  
  
Tripple H pulled away from her abruptly, at the sudden knock on the door.  
  
"Expecting someone?" Hunter asked, annoyance evident in his voice. Lita, however, was extremely relieved, and more than thankful to whoever it was that had disrupted them.  
  
"No." She shook her head. She moved to go and answer it, but Hunter grasped her bare arm, stopping her in her tracks. She looked at him and frowned. His grip was tight.  
  
"Hunter."  
  
"Just ignore it, they'll go away." He said, but Lita pulled her arm free.  
  
"I have to get it, what if it's important?" She told him, walking towards the door and not waiting for an answer. There was no way that she wasn't going to answer it.  
  
She was relieved yet again when the current World Champion made no effort to stop her opening the door. What she didn't expect to find, was the person who was standing behind that door.  
  
"Edge? What are you doing here?" 


	15. A Friendly Chat

The tall blond looked at Lita, then at Hunter, then back to Lita again.  
  
He seemed angry, which didn't surprise the former redhead, as the man was known, by most other wrestlers to be extremely quick-tempered. Anyone, that didn't know him, would see those ash-green eyes, blond hair, and big smile and automatically believe he was flawless. Not that Lita had anything against him of course. She honestly thought he was a genuine sweetheart to the bone.  
  
What she didn't know why he was knocking on *her* door, especially as he was Smackdown talent. If it had been at least a year ago, then Lita would have probably felt her heart melt at just the mere sight of him. But not now.  
  
Without warning, Edge pushed past the former redhead, who stumbled backwards slightly, frowning at the sight of the two men standing nose to nose, glaring at each other.  
  
"Edge.?" Lita yelped, but was cut short by the blonde's angry voice.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Edge growled at Tripple H, who smirked in response.  
  
Instead of answering the question, however, Hunter chose to address Lita, having to walk around the furious Canadian in order to do so.  
  
"Uh.what do you say we continue our little chat another time?" he said, in a low voice. Lita forced a smile and nodded. "Well I'll see you later," Hunter told her, louder this time, as he left to head back to his own room.  
  
Lita shut the door, relieved that Hunter was finally gone. Now all she had to do was deal with her surprise guest.  
  
"What do you want?" Lita cut straight to the point, she wasn't in the mood for friendly small talk.  
  
Edge, who appeared to have calmed down since Tripple H left, eyed the diva with obvious disapproval. She seemed to notice that, and shifted slightly from one foot to another.  
  
"What was *he* doing here?" Edge wanted to know, and Lita inwardly flinched at the harshness in his tone.  
  
"I don't think that's any of your business," The woman's champion scowled. She crossed her arms and took a seat on the edge of her bed. Edge frowned and removed a pink tee shirt to sit on the only chair in the room.  
  
"Lita. I'm concerned about you."  
  
"Your concerned? *Concerned?*!" Lita couldn't believe he'd just said that. Who did he think he was.her shrink?  
  
"Well.you've been acting strange since you got back, and a lot of people are worried about you." The tall blond informed her, which only deemed to add fuel to her anger.  
  
"Oh a lot of people huh? Worried about me." she stood up and began to pace, ".Just because I'm acting *strange?* That's kind of funny Edge, because nobody seemed concerned about me when I was lying in a hospital bed with a broken neck!" She spat the last part, but Edge shook his head profusely. He couldn't believe that she'd even think that. He cared about her a lot.  
  
"Li, you *know* that we would have been there if we could. It's just that Vince and Stephanie."  
  
"I know Edge.they had you all working extra hard when the General Managers were introduced." The diva finished for him. She'd heard their excuses before, and it seemed that the more she did hear them, then the more meaningless they became.  
  
"That's right," he clasped his hands together and stared hard at the young woman, if only to emphasise on his next words. "Then when you came back, you started hanging around with Christian and Jericho. Then you have most of Smackdown hunting you down. And Tripple H in your hotel room at this time of night. Not to mention."  
  
"Shut up Edge," God he could lecture, "For starters, Christian and Jericho aren't all that bad, hell you should know, Christian's your brother for Christ sakes! And Tripple H, well we were just discussing business. As for the time of night, well, *you're* here aren't you?" Lita rolled her eyes then added ".And who the hell do you think you are anyway? Coming to my room and giving me the third degree. Newsflash! You are *not* my father!"  
  
"What about Bischoff?" Edge muttered. The Women's champion frowned. Unless Stephanie had said anything to Edge, then there was no way of him knowing about her blood relationship to the Raw Manager.  
  
"W-What do you mean?"  
  
"All of a sudden you're his little lackey.being a mole for him on Smackdown, and on your first day back, you get a title shot." The tall Canadian, folded his arms and narrowed his eyes speculatively.  
  
"What are you getting at?" Lita shifted nervously.  
  
"It's a well known fact that Eric Bischoff hates women, and yet here you are Lita, the Women's champion, and his famous little mole. If I were Bischoff, then I'd have a man do the job for me.unless." he broke off, shooting the former redhead a disgusted look.  
  
Casting her eyes downward at the intensity of the blonde's gaze, Lita spoke softly. "Unless what?"  
  
"Rumour has it that you're offering Bischoff something that no *man* ever could." Now Edge was the one looking down, studying his trainers. He just hoped to god that the things he'd heard about his friend were far from the truth.  
  
Lita was speechless. He definitely didn't know that Bischoff was her father. But did it hurt her to know what he was implying.what he thought of her.that she would sleep with the boss for a stupid title. 'Rumours' did he say? So he wasn't the only one who thought she was a whore. They all did. Her so-called friends.  
  
She knew that she should just tell him to get lost and stay out of her life, but what he'd said had really hit home, and she had to fight the tears that she knew were on the verge of falling. Damn the man.  
  
"Why are you here Edge?" She asked, tiredly. She walked around to the left side of her bed, and laid down, resting her head on the feather pillow and closing her eyes.  
  
"So it's true?" Edge pressed. He was afraid of her answer, but it never came.  
  
Lita sat up suddenly, frowning at the blond and clutching the pillow in her arms. "What *are* you doing here Edge?" After all he *was* Smackdown talent. The enemy.  
  
The man raised his eyebrows slightly taken aback at the diva's heedful tone. "W-well I'm here to see you of course."  
  
"Are you? Or are you here because Stephanie sent you?" She accused, and glared at him as she waited for an answer.  
  
"No I-"  
  
"Then why all these questions Edge? Huh?" Lita raised her voice, the anger clear across her features. The Canadian's handsome face began to redden slightly. A tendency that Lita knew happened to him, when he became pissed off. Only he'd never ever been pissed off at her before.  
  
"Maybe it's because I care about you Lita!" He yelled, rising from his seat. He took a few deep breaths before addressing her again, this time in a much quieter tone, ".and I thought you cared about me too."  
  
Lita scoffed. She wouldn't let him get to her like that.  
  
"Uh.if you're referring to the two week fling we had, just over a year ago now, then shouldn't the fact that I dumped you for Matt be an indication of how I really feel about you Edge?" she jeered, the joy shining in her eyes at the flash of hurt across the blonde's face. Then, just for the sheer fun of it, she added, "oh but don't worry baby, the sex was really great." The former redhead stifled a sarcastic laugh.  
  
"Stephanie was right about you." Edge spoke gently, after a moment or two, ".you are a scheming little bitch, and you know, maybe I should have taken up Stephanie's offer to *deal* with you on Smackdown," he spat.  
  
Lita climbed off the bed and stood in front of Edge, not intimidated in the least by the fact that he had about 5 inches on her.  
  
"Well come on then baby?" she jeered, "Deal with me now. Come on then! Hit me!"  
  
The tall Canadian frowned at his friend in disbelief. He couldn't understand the way she was behaving, or why she was behaving like that. It was as though she were another person, but with Lita's appearance. She'd changed, and she'd changed for the worse.  
  
"I'm leaving." He simply muttered, then proceeded to do exactly that.  
  
"Coward." Lita whispered to his retreating form, and pushed the door shut. She was shaking, but not from fear. From regret. From confusion. Maybe.  
  
Registering the silence in the room, she felt an overwhelming surge of loneliness shoot through her, and she allowed her tears to fall freely, as she collapsed on her bed. Edge had been one of her closest friends. Now she'd lost him for good, and all because of her damn pride. *She* knew that she hadn't meant any of the cruel words she'd said. They were just heat of the moment. The only problem, was that *Edge* didn't know she hadn't meant them. He didn't know about the mess she was in. He wouldn't understand. She just prayed that eventually, when everything did come out, then hopefully he would forgive her. Hopefully.  
  
~  
  
He'd made up his mind. Walking along the corridor, he stopped at a door and pulled out a piece of paper with a number on it, matching the one on the door. With the former redhead's hurtful words ringing in his ears, he knocked once. Twice.  
  
The door opened and Edge smiled.  
  
"Hey, so you finally decided to come," the other man said, gesturing for Edge to enter "what changed your mind?"  
  
"Rob, let's just say that you were right about Lita." 


	16. Sacrifices

Raw.  
  
Trish Stratus held a breath as she walked nervously through the door marked 'Women's Locker Room,' her eyes instantly darting around the place.  
  
Sure enough, Ivory was in there, stretching for a match she had later with Molly, who was also in the room, applying some pink lip gloss. Jackie was sitting on a chair, chatting away to Stacy Keibler, who appeared to be a little upset. It was no secret that the young woman had been having relationship troubles. Her boyfriend Test was unfortunately the over-protective, jealous type. Something that Trish herself had discovered back in her 'T&A' days.  
  
Victoria wasn't there; she was probably with Steven Richards somewhere. The two of them were inseparable and both a little too crazy for Trish's liking. Jazz wasn't there either and the blond diva knew she wouldn't be missing the 'bitch' anytime soon.  
  
However, Trish wasn't interested in either Victoria's or Jazz's whereabouts, and it wasn't any of the divas present in the locker-room that she wanted to talk to.  
  
It was Lita.  
  
After everything that Rob had said about current women's champion, and then what Edge had told them the previous night, about Lita sleeping with the boss, Trish couldn't help but feel nervous about having to face the other diva. She seemed dangerous. Not just physically, but Lita was bound to have connections through Eric Bischoff, and those types of connections usually involved two large men and a fashion designer. The blond Canadian shuddered slightly at the thought of what those very men had once done to Stephanie McMahon on her *own* show. Imagine what they could do to Trish on *Eric Bischoff's* show...  
  
"Uh...have any of you seen Lita around?" she asked, and all the diva's glanced at her. Trish had to take a deep breath to stop herself from trembling. It wasn't that she was scared of the other divas, not a chance...she was more afraid that one of them would say 'yes' to her question. Seemed silly really, that she wanted to know where Lita was, but at the same time she didn't...  
  
"No she hasn't been in here." Molly informed the petite blond, whom outwardly frowned, and inwardly sighed with relief.  
  
"Oh, well if any of you guys see her at all, could you please tell her that I was looking for her?" she asked... 'Or not', she thought.  
  
"Sure thing honey," Jackie replied, accompanied with an "Uh-huh" from Ivory and a "Yep" from Molly.  
  
"Thanks," Trish sighed on her way out, and looked up and down the hallway. Now what?  
  
The petite blond shook her head regretfully as she made her way back to the guys' locker room. She didn't want to have to tell Rob, Tommy and the others that she hadn't yet spoken to Lita. Sure the night was still fresh, and Raw was in it's early minutes, but Trish knew that she should really try and look for Lita as soon as possible; before she lost her nerve altogether.  
  
Trish suddenly stopped in her tracks as she spotted a sign on one of the doors. She narrowed her eyes at the name on the door, wondering, just wondering if the cocky male could tell her where Lita was. After all, the Woman's champion had kissed him last week.  
  
Cringing at that very thought, Trish knocked on Chris Jericho's door.  
  
~  
  
"Are you sure that's the only way?" Bischoff asked for about the fifth time that evening. He just wasn't sure about Paul's plans; they just seemed a little too sketchy.  
  
Heyman leaned over the desk, grinning sadistically, at the Raw GM. "It's the perfect way to distract Stephanie McMahon. The little bitch won't know what the hell is going on."  
  
"Yeah but." Eric rubbed his forehead. He had a bad feeling about this whole idea.  
  
"Bischoff, you said it yourself, Stephanie is bound to be devising a plan, and you have the power to distract her from that plan. To confuse the woman and buy yourself time to build up a force for Judgement day."  
  
"I know but."  
  
"It's the only way Bischoff, unless you want to lose everything to Stephanie McMahon." Paul smirked; he knew how to strike a nerve.  
  
"I'd die before I let Stephanie humiliate me." The dark haired man spat, and Paul grinned.  
  
"So it's settled?" he asked with a gleam in his eye. He was really going to enjoy this.  
  
"No wait," Bischoff put his head in his hands, fatigued by all the constant planning, all the lies and the secrets. "She won't be badly hurt."  
  
"Nah," Paul shrugged for emphasis, "she'll probably have a few bruises, or a concussion at the most. Hell that girl is a tough one and you know that better than anyone."  
  
"You're right." Eric ran his hands through his hair, then thought of another question, "What about her friends?"  
  
"What friends?" Heyman scoffed.  
  
"You know, the Dudleys, Trish etc."  
  
"Dealt with." Paul smiled that sadistic smile again; "I have Rob Van Dam working on turning them against the 'lovely Lita' right now. I just told him to tell them a bunch of stories and they believed him like there was no tomorrow. Even Edge is buying all that crap and he's not even Raw talent."  
  
The Raw GM frowned. He really wasn't so sure about Heyman's ideas. Bischoff loved his daughter, he really did, but there was no way that he would lose his business to the 'Billion Dollar Princess'. Some sacrifices had to be made, and Lita would understand eventually. He hoped. "Okay, get your guys ready and I'll meet you in the ring later,"  
  
"We'll see you then," Paul said cheerfully on the way out.  
  
Eric sighed as he thought about the things Paul Heyman had been saying. The former ECW owner did have a good point. Stephanie wouldn't have a clue what was going on if some of her very own superstars finished the job that she had asked them do last Smackdown. Except that it would be on Raw and under Eric Bischoff's orders. The GM smiled as he thought about the look that would appear on the brunette's face. Everything was going to go perfectly. He could almost taste victory.  
  
Now all he had to do was get Chief Morely to carry out the interrogations to find the 'famous' Smackdown mole.  
  
There were also a few other things Bischoff needed to do, involving a few of his own superstars. Heyman may have most of Lita's friends brainwashed, but there were still a few that Eric needed to take care of.  
  
Jericho, Christian and his *favourite* nephew, Batista. 


	17. Revelations

Trish almost stormed out from Chris Jericho's locker room, anger clear on her pretty face. She really didn't know why she'd bothered to go in there in the first place. The self-proclaimed 'King of the World', and his idiot friend Christian, had no idea where Lita was, but they'd both managed to piss off the petite blond with their rude insults and offerings of 'Vitamin C's. The jackasses.  
  
The diva decided that she was definitely going to head back to the guy's locker room this time. Lita either didn't want to be found, or was in the one place Trish didn't want to look.  
  
.Eric Bischoff's office.  
  
"Trish wait up!" a male voice called out, and Trish turned to smile at Tommy Dreamer, who ran to catch up with her.  
  
"Hey Tommy what's up?" Trish smiled, glad to see one of her best friends after dealing with those two jerks.  
  
"Rob wants to talk to us immediately, he says that he has some important information to tell us." Tommy shrugged as he fell into step with the petite blond. Trish frowned and looked up at him.  
  
"Really? Is it about Lita, because I been trying to find her but had no luck."  
  
"I have no idea what it's about. Rob wouldn't say over the phone, but he said that the Dudley's were already there and I had to find you. They're waiting for us in the Dudley's locker room."  
  
"Well let's go then," Trish said, taking Tommy by the arm and almost dragging him in the direction of the locker room. She was eager to find out any new information that Rob had.  
  
"Okay, okay Trish, over enthusiasm!" Tommy shook his head as he followed the obviously curious diva. He had to admit though, he was very curious about Rob's 'important' information too.  
  
~  
  
Jeff Hardy scowled as he sat alone in the locker room he was sharing with Rob Van Dam and Kane. He'd been tying the laces on his boots, when he'd suddenly heard Terri's voice on the small TV monitor. That was when he'd seen her. Lita. Leaving a limousine with 'Evolution'.  
  
Damn. Jeff swore softly as he kept his eyes glued to the woman he'd thought was his best friend. She looked so different, with her tight leather pants and a red three-quarter length shirt, which was open at the bottom to show off her belly piercing. And her hair. It was jet-black and left to hang in long messy waves.  
  
The young Hardy shook his head, his floppy hair hiding his face for a moment, before he ran a hand through it, once again allowing him to see the monitor.  
  
"Shit." Escaped from his lips as he saw Tripple H put his arm around the diva's waist and lead her away from Terri and the camera. Randy Orton, Batista and Flair following swiftly behind. "Assholes," he muttered, briefly wondering if Lita had been brainwashed.but no. She was too smart for that. He knew Lita, and she was obviously up to something, and Jeff hoped she knew exactly what she was doing. before she got hurt.  
  
"Jeff, can I come in?" came a worried voice from the open doorway and the young high-flyer nodded slowly. He was both surprised and confused by other man's presence. Not just because he was supposed to be on the other roster, but also because he apparently wanted to talk to *him* of all people. They definitely weren't friends and they probably could never be friends.they were as different as chalk and cheese. So why was he there?  
  
"What do you want?" Jeff narrowed his eyes, wondering if this was a set-up of some kind.  
  
The other wrestler looked up and down the hallway, and satisfied it was empty, he stepped inside the locker-room and shut the door. Then he turned to the younger man and held up his hands.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm not going to try anything, I'm here about your girl."  
  
Jeff frowned in confusion at the other man's words. "My girl?" He questioned, "I'm not seeing anybody."  
  
"No that's right, maybe what I should have said was, your brother's girl. Or maybe your brother's ex-girl. But wait, that don't sound right either, maybe-"  
  
"Lita. You're here about her?" Jeff raised an eyebrow. Now things really didn't make any sense.  
  
"Yes." The older man clarified, "She's in trouble."  
  
Jeff frowned, stepping closer to him, "What do you mean?" he wanted to know.  
  
"Exactly what I said. When Lita goes out to the ring tonight, she's going to get hurt." The man said simply.  
  
Jeff glared at him for a moment, then his eyes narrowed. "Oh really? How do I know you're not making this up? I'm just supposed to trust whatever you say?"  
  
"Yes." The man rubbed the top of his head and sighed, "Look Jeff, I know that you and I aren't friends, and I know that I'm not considered to be one of the 'good' guys-" Jeff snorted at that comment, but the man continued "- but I'm supposed to be protecting Lita, and I can't do that alone," "Wait a minute. Why on earth would *you* be protecting Lita? And what do you mean by 'protecting' anyway?" The youngest Hardy was a little more than confused. Weird things had definitely been happening in the WWE lately, and they all seemed to point at Lita.  
  
"Maybe I should tell you what's going on." The man said and took a seat on a nearby chair. Jeff slowly sat opposite on the wooden bench, never taking his eyes form the other wrestler.  
  
"Well?" Jeff urged. The other man waited a beat, then sighed.  
  
"Okay. Rob Van Dam is trying to turn Lita's friends against her,"  
  
"What?" Jeff snorted, but the man rose his hand to silence him.  
  
"He's working for Paul Heyman, who's pretending to work for Eric Bischoff."  
  
Jeff shook his head, "What do you mean pretending? And why are they picking on Lita?"  
  
"There is going to be a war at Judgement Day. A war between Smackdown and Raw. Last week on Smackdown, Stephanie sent her goons to attack Lita, because her mole -And I don't know who that is by the way- told her that Lita was working with Bischoff," he paused at the perplexed look on the young Hardy's face, "Oh it gets much worse. You see originally Heyman was working with Bischoff, but Stephanie's mole also found that out, and Steph somehow convinced Heyman to work with her instead, but to pretend to work for Bischoff."  
  
"Okay," Jeff nodded. He wasn't really sure whether he believed any of it, but he let the man proceed.  
  
"Earlier tonight, Heyman convinced Bischoff to let his *clients* attack Lita in the ring and distract Stephanie, making her an easier target at Judgement Day."  
  
"Oh because Lita is supposed to be working for Bischoff and if he attacks his own, then Steph will be confused. Yeah I get it," Jeff nodded. It seemed, the more complex the information became, then the more believable it became. The only thing that bothered the Hardy was the whole Lita working for Bischoff thing. Why would she do that?  
  
"But Steph will only be pretending to be confused. It will actually be Bischoff who's weaker, because he would have just hospitalised the one person on Raw who has access to Smackdown,"  
  
"Lita." Jeff muttered. His friend really was in trouble.  
  
"Well RVD has apparently got all his group together right at this very moment and Heyman is going to lock them in. A few others are being locked in too. Uh, Evolution, Chris Jericho and Christian, I think."  
  
"Shit." Jeff said, frowning, "That means Lita is going to be alone out there with A-train, Big Show and Team Angle,"  
  
"Hey not all of Team Angle. I'm protecting the girl." The wrestler shook his head slightly and shrugged, "And I can't take on all of them guys alone."  
  
"Why?" Jeff spoke, "I mean why are you protecting her? You're one of Heyman's clients."  
  
"There is no-one I hate more than Paul Heyman," The man stated, then chuckled "Besides I'm only 'pretending' to work for Heyman."  
  
"No shit. All these lies, I don't know how everyone keeps up." The high- flyer rolled his eyes heavenward, then a thought struck him, "Uh, so who *are* you working for?"  
  
"Huh? What makes you think I'm working for someone?" The man said quickly, looking nervous all of a sudden.  
  
"Well like you said earlier, you aren't exactly considered one of the 'good' guys. So are you gonna tell me or what?" the Hardy wanted to know. He wasn't about to align himself with this man if he didn't know the whole truth.  
  
"This goes no further than this room okay?" The larger man said in a quieter tone. Jeff nodded, leaning forward in his seat. "At Judgement Day, Bischoff will not come out a winner. Neither will Stephanie. There will only be one winner and he will be in charge of the entire WWE."  
  
"Vince McMahon?" Jeff raised an eyebrow, and the man shook his head.  
  
"No there's a new owner, and he actually managed to get Vince to sign over the company without knowing."  
  
"Really? Wow, I would have loved to have seen that?" Jeff grinned, "And this guy wants you to protect Lita?"  
  
"Yep, but I don't know why," He shrugged "And that reminds me; apparently there are supposed to be two other guys turning up to help us tonight, so it should be four against four hopefully."  
  
"Two guys, you know who they are?" Jeff asked. The older man stood and shrugged, heading towards the door.  
  
"No idea. I just hope they can fight, because against the likes of the Big Show, we're going to need all the help we can get."  
  
Jeff nodded and followed the other man out into the empty corridor. "There's just one more thing I want to know Kurt."  
  
"Yeah?" Angle glanced at the young man, knowing exactly what he was going to be asked.  
  
"Who's the new owner?" 


	18. The Mole?

Title: Like Father...Like Daughter... Author: Janine E-mail: Steph161085@aol.com Pairing: Lita/? Disclaimer: All characters belong to the WWE and Vince McMahon Rating: 15 (may contain bad language, refers to sex and abuse)  
  
Spoilers: Not really  
  
Notes: There's still a roster split. Only the women's champion can appear on both shows. Summary: Daddy's girl returns...  
  
~Part 17~  
  
They all laughed. Randy was such a goof, and Lita had decided she liked him. He may put on an unfriendly persona in the ring, but in reality he really was a nice guy.  
  
Rick Flair however, was another story. There was something shady about him that Lita just couldn't put her finger on. Earlier that night, he'd said a couple of things to her that she didn't really like. One was; "You never know who you can really trust" and then he'd gone on to say something like "I'll never trust Eric Bischoff, that's for sure". Okay, so it wasn't exactly what he'd said, but more the way he'd said it, in that smug, over-confident voice of his. Then there was the way he had looked at her, as if he was up to something. Something that involved her, no doubt.  
  
"Come on you two, you've got a match against Booker and Goldust," Flair stood and headed towards the door, surprising the diva by suddenly switching into his rather eccentric character, that he usually changes into during a match. The man really was crazy.  
  
Tripple H grinned as he followed the legend, winking at Lita before he too disappeared through the door. Randy waved bye and closed the door behind him. The highflying diva smirked and turned to her cousin, who looked far from happy.  
  
"Now that they've gone, do you want to tell me what's going on? And when the hell did you join Evolution?" Batista wanted to know. He was worried about the young woman. She seemed to be getting herself into deeper trouble every time he saw her.  
  
Lita frowned and immediately put up a defensive barrier. There was nothing she hated more then being interrogated, except for being lectured. "Look Dave, I'm grateful that you saved me last week, but what I do otherwise is none of your business."  
  
"Like hell it isn't! You're my family!" Dave yelled, then sighed, instantly regretted his outburst, "just cut the bullshit Li. None of this tough girl act works on me, you know that."  
  
"Well what do you want from me Dave?" Lita snapped, her temper quickly rising, "What do you want me to say?.that joining Evolution was just a spare of the moment thing because I was scared of Hunter's intentions towards me?.that I have no friends because of my damn temper?.That I want to rip Stephanie McMahon's head off?.that I can't even trust my own father?." Lita broke off, trying desperately to hold back the tears. She would not cry. Not if all the oceans, seas and rivers had dried up and the existence of the world relied on her tears alone. It was that accurse pride of hers again.  
  
Batista moved to sit down beside her, enveloping her in a comforting hug, one that she was more than grateful to receive. It seemed he was the only person she had left. Well apart from.-  
  
"Lita it's okay, I'm sorry for yelling at you. You know you can always come to me if anything's wrong. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you." Batista frowned. He knew that somewhere along the line, Bischoff was to blame for his cousin's misery, and Bischoff was the one that would pay.  
  
"Look Lita, when I found out about you and Eric trying to take over the company, I should have-"  
  
"Wait. How did you know that? Did my dad tell you about that?" Lita questioned, a frown marring her pretty face. She knew that wasn't right. Eric would never confide in Batista, especially about business.  
  
"Actually Randy told me," Batista admitted, watching as the diva's frown deepened.  
  
"Randy?"  
  
"Yeah, he overheard you and Uncle Eric talking." Dave explained. Lita narrowed her eyes, and brought a hand to her chin, seemingly contemplating something.  
  
"That's it!" She suddenly beamed, looking up at the man she considered more of a brother than a cousin, "You're brilliant!"  
  
"I am?" Batista raised a doubtful eyebrow and Lita couldn't help but grin.  
  
"I think I know who the Smackdown mole is,"  
  
"You do?" Now he raised sceptic eyebrow.  
  
"Yes, you said that Randy told you everything he overheard." Lita began, clasping her hands together excitedly.  
  
"Lita it's not Randy.he would never.he's not a traitor." Batista defended the youngest member of Evolution, but Lita shook her head stopping him from rambling.  
  
"No, no, I know Randy probably wouldn't say anything to Stephanie, but I think he may have told someone else about what he heard." The former redhead said. She just knew that her instincts were right about this.  
  
"No, Randy told me he wouldn't say anything to anyone else." Batista frowned, remembering how he had warned Randy to keep his nose out of things, then had bribed him with alcohol and women.  
  
"Like anyone could keep a secret like that!" she scoffed, then continued, "I think he told someone in Evolution."  
  
"Who Hunter?" Batista shook his head, "No way, Hunter hates Stephanie, and has every reason to.so that would just leave.-"  
  
"Rick Flair," Lita spat out his name. She knew it was him.she just knew.  
  
~  
  
Edge frowned as he walked briskly down the Raw corridor, thinking about how weird things were becoming in the WWE. Stephanie McMahon, has suspended him for refusing to attack Lita last week, and when he'd tried to talk to the Women's Champion, she had come out with some nasty comments that had hurt more than being sat on by both Rikishi *and* the Big Show, at the same time. Not that he'd ever actually found himself in that predicament -thank god- but he imagined that it would be pretty distressful situation to be in.  
  
Hearing voices down the far end of the corridor, the tall blond ducked into an empty locker room. He didn't want to be caught at 'Raw' by any of the camera crew, in fear of being fired by the billion-dollar bitch. That was the last thing he needed right now.  
  
Instead of cameras, he was surprised by what he saw, when he peeked round the doorframe.  
  
Tripple H, Randy Orton and Rick Flair looked as though they had just been in a match and they disappeared into a locker room. Then from the same room emerged Batista, with Lita by his side. Edge's mouth nearly dropped at the sight of his former-friend. She looked so different and it seemed as though she had made some new friends in the form of Evolution. Shaking his head slowly, the blond watched as Eric Bischoff appeared and stopped to talk to the two superstars. Although Edge couldn't hear exact words, he was aware of a brief disagreement between the two men, and then they three of them walked down the corridor together.  
  
When they were out of sight, Edge stepped out form the locker room, only to step back inside again, when he heard someone else approaching. He had to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating when he realised who it was.  
  
Paul Heyman. What on Earth was *he* doing there? Things were definitely weird. The ft man seemed proud and satisfied about something, as he carried a bunch of keys in his right hand.  
  
"Edge?" A voice startled the Canadian and he turned to see Jeff Hardy walking towards him from behind.  
  
"Jeff." He nodded a greeting, and motioned for the younger wrestler to join him inside the locker room. Jeff frowned, cautiously stepping into the room and threw the man a questioning look. It was no secret that Jeff and Edge did not get along, ever since their past tag-team feud, which included Matt and Christian. It seemed, however, that whilst Matt and Edge had become good friends during the Alliance Invasion, Jeff and Edge had not. There had also been the factor where Jeff had been the only person to know about the fling between Edge and Lita, and the young man had warned the Canadian to stay away. Not that it had really mattered anyway, as she'd dumped him for Matt two weeks later.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Jeff asked, suspicion evident in his words. He hoped the blond wasn't up to anything, like working for Paul Heyman for starters.  
  
"Well actually, I thought you could tell me that?" Edge threw him a sincere look, which warned the Hardy not to piss him off tonight. Jeff sighed and sat down on the nearest bench.  
  
"What do you mean?" Jeff asked, wishing he hadn't bothered to show up that night. First Kurt Angle had sold him some story about a new owner, and now Edge was speaking to him in riddles.  
  
"What I mean is, can you explain the anonymous phone call I got about two hours ago, telling me to get down to the arena urgently and find you, because Lita's in trouble?" Edge waited expectantly for an answer, slightly surprised when the young Hardy smirked at him.  
  
"So you're one of the guys helping us tonight." Jeff mumbled, hating having to ally himself with this certain tall blond Canadian. Kurt Angle just better be right about all of this. He stood and walked towards the door and Edge glared at him.  
  
"Come on Edge, I'll explain it in my locker room," and they both left the room, unaware of the trouble that they were getting themselves into.  
  
~End Part 17~ 


	19. Who's Plan is this Anyway?

~Part 18~  
  
Eric Bischoff stood in the middle of the ring, sneering out at the booing crowd. He was the General Manager of Raw and he was not intimidated by anyone or anything, and he would be sure to remind everyone that they should not cross him. Even her.  
  
Taking a deep breath, to calm his deeply buried nerves, he raised the microphone to his mouth and silence fell among the audience.  
  
"Before I explain my reasons for coming out here tonight, I would like to introduce you to the Women's Champion, Lita," He watched as his daughter appeared on the ramp, playing to the fans. They really did love her, some chanting her name as she entered the ring and smiled at him. He really didn't want to do what he knew he had to.to keep his business.  
  
"Lita," she smiled at him again, and he continued, "I saw what happened to you on Smackdown. I know what Stephanie McMahon tried to do to you, and I want you to look at something." he pointed up to the titantron, ignoring the puzzled look that Lita threw him. She had no idea what he had planned.  
  
The first clip showed a locker room door with Jericho and Christian's names upon it. Then another door was shown, with 'Dudley's' written on. The third and final door shown, was that of Evolution.  
  
Lita frowned, not quite sure what Bischoff was getting at.  
  
"Do you know what all of those doors have in common Lita?" she shrugged and he smirked, "They've all been locked." He pointed up to the titantron again, and this time it showed a smiling Paul Heyman, holding out a bunch of keys, and the diva began to get nervous. "You see now sweetie, you don't have to worry about *my* wrestlers attacking you, but-"  
  
"Bischoff! Bischoff over here." Eric looked up at the sound of the voice, only to find that Stephanie McMahon was now grinning wickedly on the titantron. He frowned and the brunette waved. This was not planned.  
  
"What? What are you doing here? Go away!" Eric yelled down the microphone, and Stephanie rolled her eyes.  
  
"Oh Eric, you are one stupid little man, believing that you could get my superstars to work for you when they could work for.well me!"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Now he was letting the nerves show, and maybe some fear too. What did she mean by that? By the look on Lita's face, she obviously didn't know what Stephanie was implying.  
  
"You can stop pretending Bischoff, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Do the names, Big Show, A-train, Team Angle and Paul Heyman mean anything to you?"  
  
Eric didn't say anything, but Stephanie could tell he understood, and smiled. "I was just going to go ahead and let you have your fun destroying your girl using my wrestlers." From the corner of his eye he noticed Lita frown at him in disbelief, as Stephanie continued ".but then I realised what a great opportunity I was in. You had locked in most of your wrestlers and given the keys to Paul Heyman, who works for me by the way, and now you're both all alone in the ring, with no one to protect you.oh Eric.if you only had a brain."  
  
Bischoff felt his heartbeat begin to quicken as he saw Paul Heyman and the Big Show walking down the ramp. He turned around, only to find that he and Lita were surrounded. All three members of Team Angle and A-Train were out there. After all, that's where he'd asked them to be. But now the tables were turned, and they were after him.  
  
~  
  
Fear drove through her heart as she realised the situation at hand. She didn't want to end up with another neck injury, and she sure as hell couldn't take on six guys, two of which were around 500 pounds in weight. Basically she and her father were both screwed.  
  
She gasped as she watched Charlie Haas and Benjamin Shelton, double team her father, sending him sprawling to the ground with a thud. She so wished she could help him, even if he had been the one to set up this whole ambush for her. He was still her father, and she still cared for him.  
  
Lita yelped as she was yanked backward by the hair, and swung around to face Kurt Angle. "Get out of here," he hissed and released her, so that she was able to slide under the ropes to safety. She was slightly bewildered that he hadn't harmed her and was even more surprised when he grabbed a chair and took a swing at A-Train. *He* was helping Bischoff?  
  
"Lita!" She turned, and noticed that Paul Heyman obviously wasn't going to let her get away so easily, as he marched towards her with a glint in his eyes.  
  
"I don't think so jackass!" Another voice yelled, and Lita briefly wondered if Kurt Angle had got back out of the ring, as a chair slammed into Heyman's head, leaving him unconscious on the ground. It wasn't Angle though, she could see that now.it was Edge. He grinned at her quickly before sliding into the ring to help out in what looked to be complete chaos.  
  
There were chairs flying around, and men running left, right and centre. Jeff Hardy was attempting a Swanton on Benjamin Shelton, Kurt and Edge were going wild with chair shots to the Big Show. And was that Steve Austin who was taking out A-Train? Lita shook her head at the carnage, then spun round right into Charlie Haas.  
  
"Shit," was all she managed, before the chair connected with the side of her head and everything went black.  
  
~ End Part 18~ 


	20. Waiting Around

Title: Like Father...Like Daughter... Author: Janine E-mail: Stephjanine49@aol.com Pairing: Lita/? Disclaimer: All characters belong to the WWE and Vince McMahon Rating: 15 (may contain bad language, refers to sex and abuse)  
  
Spoilers: Not really  
  
Notes: There's still a roster split. Only the women's champion can appear on both shows. Summary: Daddy's girl returns...  
  
~Part 19~  
  
"Fired?! Dammit!" The wrestler threw his mobile to the ground, wincing when it shattered to pieces across the waiting room floor, "She can't do that! She can't fire us!" he yelled, wishing he had another mobile phone, so that he could smash that one too.  
  
"She can and she has," came the more rational voice from beside him, "just calm down Edge, we're in a hospital remember? Do you want to get us to get thrown out?"  
  
"No." Edge sat down next to the man and leaned back, sighing as he did so, "It's just.well I don't know Kurt.It's not really the job I'm worried about.I can't explain it."  
  
Kurt Angle looked the Canadian up and down. He looked exhausted and anxious, and Kurt new it was because of the diva who was lying unconscious on a hospital bed. They had yet to be given permission to see her, yet Kurt didn't know whether he really wanted to. He felt out of place, like he shouldn't be there. He hadn't really spoken to the girl before, so what right did he have to be sitting there, with her friends, waiting for news on her health? He scanned the waiting room, surprised at how popular the woman must be. Jeff Hardy was sitting across from him, head in hands as Trish comforted him. Tommy Dreamer sat beside them and the three Dudley's were standing and talking together. RVD wasn't there, but then that didn't really surprise him. Austin and Lillian were sitting in the corner of the room, and although Lillian was a friend of Lita's, Steve wasn't, but he was there, just like Kurt.  
  
"Hey," a new voice interrupted the tranquillity of the room, and most of the wrestlers looked up.  
  
"What are you two doing here?" Edge snapped, standing to his feet. Kurt stood too, just in case Edge decided to lunge for either of the two blondes, and that was highly likely given the mood he was in.  
  
"I uh.we were concerned about Lita." Chris Jericho raised his hands, as if easing off a wild beast. Christian nodded as he regarded his older brother, noticing how restless Edge seemed.  
  
"Look man, we're not here to cause any trouble. We just wanted to know if she was okay," Christian spoke, never taking his eyes form his brother's. Edge wordlessly sat back down and the others followed suit.  
  
"It's good of you to come, I'm sure she'll appreciate it." Kurt nodded, hating to have to play the role of the calm one. It just made him seem so cold.  
  
"Have you seen her yet?" Chris wanted to know, glancing round the room like Kurt had done earlier.  
  
"No." Jeff almost whispered, and Trish wrapped her arm tightly around him. She glanced at Jericho, and shook her head.  
  
"They're not letting anyone in yet," She said, and silence filled the room once more.  
  
"I should have stopped it happening," Edge muttered and a few of them looked up, confusion on their faces.  
  
"What?" Christian frowned. He was afraid this would happen.that his brother would blame himself.  
  
"I was out there with her. I stopped Heyman getting his hands on her. Then I got back in the ring and left her. If I'd only stayed with her."  
  
".Then the rest of us probably would have got our asses kicked, and Lita could have been hurt even more." Kurt sighed, "It's not your fault Edge. You didn't know what was going to happen. We were just lucky we got to her when we did."  
  
"If anyone's to blame then it's Eric Bischoff." Jericho declared, his hatred for the man obvious by his tone.  
  
"You know, he has a point there," Devon piped up.  
  
"Yeah, and to think he got off lightly with a little concussion." Trish sneered as she thought about her arrogant boss, "If it was up to me he'd be needing brain surgery right now."  
  
"I think that's quite fitting." Everyone looked up at the new voice, surprised when they saw the angry looking Evolution member, standing in the doorway to the room.  
  
"You..." Edge stood, narrowing his eyes "You had something to do with this didn't you?"  
  
"What?" The large man lifted his eyebrows at the suspicious Canadian.  
  
"You heard me. I saw you, Lita and Bischoff talking outside your locker room just before Lita went out there. You care to explain Batista?"  
  
Dave suddenly felt uncomfortable under the accusing glares and inwardly sighed, knowing he'd have to either explain or leave, and he wanted to see Lita just as much as anyone else, possibly more so.  
  
"I told Unc-. uh Bischoff, that I wanted to go to the ring with Lita, but he refused to let me. We argued for a moment, and then he said that I could walk her to the stage. Then I went back to my locker room with the rest of Evolution. We saw the whole thing on the monitor, but we couldn't get out. Our door was locked from the outside." He glanced at the ground, remembering how he had wanted to tear Eric to shreds for what he'd done to his cousin, and remembering how helpless he felt when Charlie Haas had repeatedly struck her with a blasted chair.  
  
"Okay, I believe you. But you can go and tell Tripple H that Lita's okay and she's not a part Evolution anymore, and that he'd better stay the hell away from her." Edge said in a dangerous tone, but Batista wasn't phased.  
  
"Is that why you think I'm here? Because Tripple H sent me?"  
  
"It's the most logical reason," Bubba Dudley spoke up, shrugging at the frowning wrestler.  
  
"Well maybe-"  
  
"Excuse me?" A blond lady wearing a long white coat entered the room, with a clipboard in her hands. Everyone looked up hopefully at the doctor as she continued, "Are you all waiting to see Lita?"  
  
"Yeah, is she awake? Can we see her?" Trish asked, giving Jeff's hand a small squeeze. The doctor smiled gently at the blonde.  
  
"Yes she's awake. She has a concussion, a few broken ribs, and sprained wrist, but other than that she'll be fine. She's one tough girl though, to take a beating like that so shortly after recovering from a broken neck, and still come out of it okay."  
  
"Well can we see her?" Edge asked, both relieved that the diva was going to be okay, and also extremely anxious to see her.  
  
"All in due time." The doctor assured him, "But right now, she's asking to see her father-."  
  
"Who?" Jeff frowned, uncertain if he heard the woman correctly. Noticing the looks on the other wrestler's faces, he must have done. "But he's dead. I mean.well both her parents are dead."  
  
"He is?" the doctor looked down at her notes on the clipboard and back up at the perplexed faces, "A Mr Bischoff? Eric Bischoff?"  
  
~End Part 19~ 


	21. Things Are Really Going To Change

~Sorry it took so long- just got back from holiday. Thanks for all the feedback; it's very much appreciated. Short but relevant chapter this one. I'll try to get the next up as soon as possible~  
  
Guilt?  
  
Surely that couldn't be the horrible feeling he had inside. The feeling of regret, anger and sorrow all piled in one, topped with the knowledge that he couldn't change the past.  
  
No it couldn't be guilt. He'd never felt guilt in his entire life. Not even when he'd thrown his young nephew onto the streets with nothing but a few dollars in his pocket.  
  
Regret maybe.  
  
She could have broken her neck again. But he'd figured she'd be okay, after all, she had pulled through the first time hadn't she?  
  
It wasn't that he didn't love his daughter- because he did, very much- but without his job, without the power, Eric Bischoff would have nothing. Would be nothing. Stephanie McMahon would be smiling then. She would have it all.  
  
Revenge was on the cards. Eric would get her back- he only had a concussion, Smackdown was a couple of day's away and Judgement day was about 5 days away. He would be ready to fight back- he just needed to find some people to help him out.  
  
The General Manager sat up in his hospital bed, pulling the pillow behind him into a more comfortable position. He sighed as he thought about the only visitor he'd had that evening.  
  
Batista. The man had spouted some angry words to his uncle, about how upset he was about what he'd pulled and about how he would never let him harm Lita again. Though the most hurtful words came when Bischoff had tried to explain why he did what he did. Batista had shook his head and mouthed "You're a failure as a manager Eric, and you're even more a failure as father."  
  
He'd never forget those words, and if there was one thing Eric hated more than anything, it was 'failing'.  
  
With that last thought on his mind, Bischoff stood and left the room, to go and find his daughter.  
  
~  
  
"I know why you're here," Lita looked up from her position in her hospital room bed. She hated hospitals, ever since she'd found out her mother had died in one -'there was nothing the doctors could do'- she hated doctors too.  
  
"Then you know that these flowers aren't from me," the wrestler stated as he closed the door and passed her the snow-white lilies. Lita scrunched up her nose as the looked at them, brushing a finger across one of the petals.  
  
"How cute," she sighed, obviously thinking they were anything but. "The perfect flowers for any funeral."  
  
The man smirked. Although he didn't really know the girl very well at all, he could understand why a lot of people did. She had always seemed to be one of those people that loved and enjoyed life. That's why it was ironic that she had been given a bunch of flowers that symbolise death of all things.  
  
"Preferably your father's funeral no doubt," he spoke and Lita glanced up at him slightly surprised. She kept forgetting that people knew about her family secret. Batista had only told her minute ago that the doctor had let it slip to half the roster, and as she was now only talking to her second visitor that evening, she had yet to face many others. Ignoring the wrestler's last comment, she pulled out a small white piece of paper with some words scrawled on in thick black ink:  
  
'5 days, they will be judged'  
  
The diva shuddered slightly, thinking that it was kind of morbid of him to send her the flowers with a note like that while she was still in hospital. But in way it was kind of comforting too.  
  
"Look I know that he sent you to help me tonight-" Lita began.  
  
"-And Kurt, Edge and Jeff too." He informed her, and Lita's eyes went wide with disbelief.  
  
"You mean he told them about us?" she felt her heartbeat quicken just imaging the questions that Jeff and Edge would throw at her. She wasn't ready for that yet. It was bad enough that they knew about her father.  
  
"No, only Angle knows. That's how he found out about Stephanie and Heyman's plans. He couldn't reach you so he sent me. Kurt found Jeff and told him there would be a new owner, but didn't tell him who it was or why he wanted to protect you. I guess Jeff told Edge." He shrugged and folded his arms, looking down at the young woman in front of him.  
  
Lita shook her head and sighed. Things were getting too complicated and she couldn't wait till all the secrets were out in the open. Only 5 days to go. She reached down into the drawer beside her bed, wincing slightly when the movement put pressure onto her ribs. The wrestler moved forward to help her sit back up once she had found what she was looking for. He could have sworn he saw a flash of embarrassment on her face at his actions.  
  
"Thanks Steve." She murmured, and Austin nodded briefly. He watched as she opened the small black box she held in her hands and removed from it the small gold object. "Everyone will find out soon enough, and then everything's going to change."  
  
Lita couldn't help but smirk as she placed the wedding ring on her finger. "Things are really going to change." 


	22. Contract? What Contract?

The morning sun shone through the blinds of her hospital room window as Lita gathered up her belongings and waited for Kurt and Edge to return. Kurt had kindly offered to give her a lift back to her hotel and Edge had refused to leave her side ever since they'd spoken the night before.  
  
There had been so many questions. 'why didn't you tell us Lita?' 'what were you thinking?' and 'why did you join Evolution?' were the main questions thrown at her by her visitors.  
  
Jeff had been surprisingly understanding. He'd told her that he didn't care who her father was and that she was still his best friend no matter what and that he'd always be there for her. The Dudley's didn't even mention Bischoff, Evolution or Stephanie. They'd just asked how she was and made a few jokes here and there. Lillian, Trish and Tommy Dreamer had visited her together. While Lillian and Tommy had followed suit with the Dudley's, Trish had questioned her profusely about everything that was going on. Then she'd seen Edge next and Kurt had followed him into the room, even though the blond obviously didn't want him there. Lita was glad of the Olympic Gold Medallist's presence though as Edge seemed more clam around him. Well kind of. After threatening to kill the whole Smackdown roster, RVD, half of Evolution and Bischoff he'd gone on to tell her that he was there for her, but had practically told her that she was stupid for lying about Bischoff. They'd almost broke out in a heated argument -again- when they'd been interrupted by a very sorry looking Eric Bischoff bursting through the door, with Batista and Austin following swiftly behind.  
  
That's when things had really got out of control. Edge had lunged for him but Kurt had held him back, resulting in an argument between the two friends. Batista had begun yelling at Bischoff, who yelled back and Austin was trying to break them apart. Jeff and Trish had come running to the room trying to calm the others down. Whilst all that was happening Lita had just sat there and watched the chaos unfold.  
  
It was only when she'd screamed "shut up!" at the top of her lungs, had everyone frozen on the spot. Then she'd told her father that she'd wanted to see him for one reason only and that was to tell him she was going to get revenge. Eric had had a pretty confident look in his eyes, clearly believing that she was talking about revenge on Stephanie, although she was actually referring to revenge on both Stephanie *and* Bischoff. That look was soon wiped off, when she'd told him to leave in front of everyone, and he'd hesitated for moment before doing as she said.  
  
A few hours later the Dudleys, Tommy and Lillian had left the hospital, shortly followed by Trish and a reluctant Jeff Hardy. He'd wanted to stay, but was clearly exhausted and Kurt had convinced him to leave with Trish. Austin left next and then Batista, who had to meet up with Evolution. Kurt and Edge stayed the night. It wasn't like they had anywhere to go anyway considering they had both lost their jobs.  
  
"Lita, are you ready?" Edge poked his head through the door and grinned. The diva smiled back pushed him outside the door as she left, finally glad to be leaving the ugly white room behind.  
  
"Where's Kurt?" She wondered aloud, as they walked the corridors together.  
  
"He's waiting in the car. Um.Li, where are we driving to?" he had a feeling he already knew the answer to that question, although he wished he was wrong.  
  
"I'm going to meet up with Smackdown." Edge had been correct and was about to protest when she stopped him, ".Please Edge I have to be at Smackdown, there are a few things I need to do before Judgement Day. I won't get into any trouble I promise."  
  
Edge sighed as he took in her desperate look. He really wished she wouldn't go there with Stephanie trying to destroy her. Looking the woman over he frowned at the bandage on her left wrist and he knew there were more bandages under her shirt. Damn that Charlie Haas. He couldn't just knock her out with a chair, but he had to kick her repeatedly in the stomach. The Canadian wasn't so sure how she sprained her wrist, but he suspected she could have done it trying to block the chair shot.  
  
"Okay." Edge said, wondering if he would regret this later, "I'll get Kurt to drive us to Smackdown, but I'm staying with you the whole time, Fired or not." He added and Lita rolled her eyes at his over-protectiveness.  
  
"Whatever." She shrugged. She had a lot to do and arguing with Edge would only delay her further, "Let's go then." And they left the hospital to find Kurt.  
  
~  
  
"I am so proud of you sweetheart, the way you dealt with Eric Bischoff and his little brat like that. And they didn't even see it coming." The grey haired billionaire smiled at his daughter across the dinner table. "I just wish your brother would show more initiative and intelligence sometimes." He made a point to glare at his son on those very words and Stephanie beamed at the thought of being father's favourite.  
  
Shane scowled and stood from the table, throwing his mother an apologetic look; "I'm going home. Thanks for the dinner mom, it was great, shame about the company though." He glanced from Stephanie to Vince and shook his head, "See you later." He added as he left the mansion.  
  
"Oh Vince, sometimes I wish you'd think before you spoke." Linda McMahon was the one who was now shaking her head as she too proceeded to leave the room.  
  
"Yeah well I *am* daddy's little girl remember." Stephanie smiled as she brought the topic of conversation back to herself instead of her loser of a brother. Honestly, with all her success as of late, she wondered how the two of them could really share the same genes.  
  
"And once again I am very proud. Honestly, I had no idea that Lita was Eric Bischoff's daughter all these years she was working for the WWE. How did you find out?" Vince asked, munching on his piece of carrot cake that he'd ordered as his dessert.  
  
"My undercover mole of course." Stephanie declared excitedly, as her father raised a curious eyebrow.  
  
"And that would be.?"  
  
"My ex-husband's new best friend, Rick Flair." She announced exultantly clasping her hands together. Vince shook his head in amazement. She definitely took after him rather than her mother. Although there was just one thing he couldn't get off his mind.-  
  
"Um.Stephanie sweetheart, I haven't seen any sign of an appearance by Mr America yet and-" Stephanie raised a hand, cutting him off.  
  
"Actually that was one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. Considering that I will most probably be in control of both companies come this Sunday at Judgement Day, I think it would be in everyone's best interests if you just sign Mr America straight over to Smackdown." The GM declared, but her smile faded as soon as she saw the puzzled look her father threw her. "What?"  
  
"Stephanie you already have Mr America, I signed him over to you last week remember? You had the papers sent over?" Vince frowned when he realised that his daughter had no idea what he was talking about.  
  
"No. I didn't send anybody anywhere. I only got the contract drawn up a couple of days ago. Um.dad I'm sorry but whatever you've signed couldn't possibly have been that same contract."  
  
Vince's frown deepened, as he remembered signing the paper and not bothering to read it. Hell he shouldn't have needed to because he trusted the man, didn't he? Maybe.  
  
"Stephanie if I didn't sign that contract, then what the hell did I sign?" 


	23. Three days and counting

"Aren't we there yet?"  
  
"Lita! Do I really have to say 'no', again?" Kurt snapped from his position in the driver's seat. Honestly, the diva really knew how to annoy the hell out of a person. She'd been asking the same question every five minutes for the past half-hour! Edge however, seemed to be amused by this and kindly added to Kurt's torture by playing a game, which required him to flick the radio station every time he saw a road sign.  
  
"Soo-rry!" Lita said in a tone of voice that clearly stated that she wasn't indeed sorry at all.  
  
"We're on a six hour drive and we've been on the road for an hour.you do the math." Kurt informed her, sarcasm lacing his voice. Lita's eyes widened slightly, as she didn't know Kurt had it in him to be witty and sarcastic. Oh well, she also thought he'd been working with Heyman. Her husband hadn't told her that he'd somehow convinced the Olympic Gold Medallist to turn on his own 'manager'.  
  
"Here it is Angle," Edge pointed to a very modern looking motel through his window and Kurt nodded, pulling the car into the half full parking lot.  
  
Lita didn't try to pretend not to be confused. "Didn't you just say we had another five hours on the road?" She scrunched up her nose and she followed the two wrestlers as they left the car. She took another look around, "Guys this isn't the place, where the hell are we?"  
  
"Just meeting a couple of .uh.friends," Edge grinned. Lita frowned as Kurt and Edge, swiftly removed all of the bags from the boot of the car and made their way over to a hefty looking jeep. The boot was already open and they proceeded to load the bags into it one by one.  
  
"What are you doing? Whose car is this?" The Woman's Champion just wished they would tell her what the hell was going on. She stared at them as they stayed silent and opened the back passenger seat doors on either side of the car, Kurt jumping inside and Edge holding the door open for her. She glared at the tall blond before getting in herself, and Edge sat down beside her.  
  
"Hey," Came a cheerful familiar voice from the driver's seat and Lita smirked as two pairs of blue eyes greeted her.  
  
"What are you two doing here?" She smiled at them and then glanced from Edge to Kurt and added, "What are they doing here? Did you tell them we were going to Smackdown?"  
  
"Yeah I thought it'd be best if you had more backup. You never know what kind of stunt Stephanie McMahon may pull." Edge rolled his eyes at the thought of the 'billion dollar princess'. Stephanie probably thought that Lita was too beat up to even make it to Smackdown. How surprised she was going to be when Lita not only turned up, but also came with company.  
  
"Yeah, that's why we left early last night at the hospital. Once we knew you were fine, Edge told us to get our things and a car, and meet you guys here." Christian explained as he started the engine and drove the jeep back onto the road.  
  
"You two came to the hospital last night?" The diva asked with raised eyebrows clearly surprised that they'd bothered or even cared.  
  
"Course we did, 'cos we like you Li, and you didn't deserve what you got last night." Jericho winked at her over the car seat and she grinned.  
  
"Aww, you hear that boys, they like me," Lita said to Edge and Kurt in a playful tone as she swatted them both on the arm.  
  
"Ow," they whined in unison. Lita frowned, not because she'd hit the two wrestlers, but because she'd just picked up on something that Christian had said only a moment ago. "Uh.Edge? How did you know I would be going to Smackdown? I mean you must have known last night, to send Christian and Jericho out here to meet us?" The diva pointed out, eyeing the Canadian in question with curiosity.  
  
"Because I know what you're like sweetie. As soon as the doctor told us you were okay, then I knew you'd be going to Smackdown. I know that you don't give up and that you keep fighting back. Never letting anyone think that they've won and that you're weak. Always the strong one.right Lita?" Edge met the former redhead's gaze for a long moment, neither breaking the eye contact. Christian and Jericho exchanged a quick glance, leaving it up to Kurt to break the tension.  
  
"So what's the plan when we get there? Do we hide out until Smackdown? Or do we just let everyone know we're there?" Angle asked, rubbing the back of his head. Lita turned and glanced at him, looking slightly confused for a moment and then nodded.  
  
"Uh.yeah that sounds good.let's do that." She swallowed as Kurt threw her a strange look. She hadn't exactly answered his question, but he wasn't all that bothered. All he knew was that he was going to kick ass on Smackdown and that he was going to enjoy doing it.  
  
"So Lita? What's it like having Bischoff as a father?" Lita raised her eyebrows at Jericho's random question, inwardly groaning and hoping that there wouldn't be more of them coming anytime soon. She didn't exactly want to tell the man her entire life story. Chris grinned as if reading her mind and saying for just mere pleasure-.  
  
"Don't worry babe, take your time. We've got about five hours on the road and I want to know everything."  
  
~  
  
"You did what?" Shane McMahon almost screamed at his little sister as she proudly told him what she'd spoken to Eric Bischoff about just a few minutes ago, over the phone. There was no going back now, and with only three days until Judgement Day. If only he'd known about this sooner.  
  
"You heard me Shane," She smiled at the outraged look on Shane's face, crossing her arms defiantly across her chest, "I can't possibly lose."  
  
"Okay so let me get this straight. You've issued challenge to Bischoff at Judgement Day, Raw versus Smackdown in every match."  
  
".And every match will be for a title. So the great Triple H will take on Brock Lesner, and the winner of that match will become the Undisputed Champion. The Tag-team Championships will be merged together. The Women's, the Intercontinental, and the Light-heavyweight Championships will also be on the line. I'm even going to bring back the Hardcore Championship." Stephanie was literally beaming but her brother still seemed unconvinced of her brilliant idea.  
  
"And the main event?" He wanted to know. She hadn't yet mentioned that.  
  
"The main event will be a team of six Smackdown superstars, taking on a team of six Raw superstars in an elimination match, and if -sorry- when Smackdown win, then I will become the General Manager of both shows." Oh yeah, she'd thought it all through. She knew exactly whom she'd pick for her team, and there was no way they would be beaten by Raw, especially with the referee she had planned for the match.  
  
"And you think Eric Bischoff will agree to this?" The eldest sibling asked. Stephanie sighed then shrugged.  
  
"I hope so. I've invited him to Smackdown tonight and he's on his way as we speak. That way we can announce the matches on air."  
  
Shane frowned at what his sister said, and then a slow smile crept its way onto his face. "Sounds like one hell of a pay-per-view," he smirked, and a had a thought "And dad's okay with this?"  
  
"Of course, dad thinks it's brilliant idea. He's just been a little preoccupied the last couple of days, something about a contract he signed." Stephanie rolled her eyes and took a seat in the nearest chair. Shane raised his eyebrows curiously and sat down opposite her.  
  
"A contract? For what?"  
  
"That's the thing, he has no idea. Someone- and he wouldn't say who- brought him a contract and said it was for Mr America, but it couldn't have been. Anyway, I don't know all the details, but apparently the person was someone dad trusted and he has no idea what he signed because he wasn't looking or something," The woman shrugged obviously not interested in the least. Shane didn't say anything and waited for his sister to continue. "However Shane, that doesn't concern me, I have a pay-per-view to organise. At least dad said he would be there, and that he would be the special guest referee for the main event." She smiled, at the surprised look on her brother's face.  
  
"You really have it all figured out don't you?" Shane shook his head, really beginning to wonder why she'd asked him here just to tell him her plans for Judgement Day.  
  
"And there's something I need you to do Shane." Stephanie said, giving him the 'You're the best big brother in the world' look. He should have known.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"I want you to be the special guest referee in one of the matches." She grinned and Shane frowned, "I want you to be there when I kick Lita's ass and become the new Women's Champion." 


	24. SmackDown!

A/N: Sorry but it's quite a long chapter..thanks for the feedback though!.  
  
Lita sat crossed legged on the steel chair clutching her mobile phone in her right hand. Kurt, Edge, Jericho and Christian were all sitting around talking quietly, trying to keep the noise down. They'd been lucky so far. They'd managed to sneak into an unoccupied locker room on Smackdown, without anyone seeing them and had locked the door. Fortunately they did have a television monitor in the room and were able to keep track of what was happening in the ring.  
  
So far, there had been a match between Rey Mysterio and Shannon Moore, with Matt Hardy at ringside. Lita had tried to watch the match, if only to cheer like crazy when Matt had attempted to interfere and had ended up getting the 619, but had been on the phone to Batista for the last 10 minutes.  
  
"I told you Dave.just keep an eye on Flair.yeah and thanks for telling me.bye" She hung up the phone and the guys gave her an expectant look.  
  
"Well? Everything okay?" Edge asked and Lita nodded slowly.  
  
"Yeah, but apparently my loving father is going to be here tonight." She placed her head in her hands in an exasperated manner, and peeked out between her fingers, just in time to see Christian pointing frantically at the TV set.  
  
"Speaking of the devil." The blond said, and Lita moved so that she could see the screen better.  
  
It was Bischoff. The camera followed him down the hall until he reached a door labelled General Manager. He knocked and then entered, leaving the camera facing a closed door.  
  
"Oh great, things can't possibly get any worse than this," Lita sighed, then suddenly regretted saying those infamous words as they heard a small knock on the door. Great.  
  
"Who the hell could that be?" Kurt whispered and Edge raised his hand to shush him.  
  
"I know someone's in there, I heard voices!" An annoyed woman's voice called through the wood, and she knocked again trying to open the door, "hello? Is this some kind of a joke, my things are in there."  
  
Sure enough, what the group hadn't noticed before was that there was indeed a bag at the far side of the room. It was open and completely full of clothes and a small purse was visible, peeking out from underneath some blue denim. Giving no thought to the privacy of the woman outside, Chris made a grab for the purse, opening it to look for any form of identification.  
  
"Whose is it?" Christian asked in as low a tone as he could muster. Jericho threw the group a look and held up a driver's licence.  
  
"Behind door number one, stands a Miss Dawn Marie." He rolled his eyes as the door rattled again.  
  
"Damn, how are we going to get rid of her? She's bound to call someone to open the door, then our cover will be blown." Edge frowned, but the Women's Champion shook her head and smiled.  
  
"We don't get rid of her. We let her in." Lita said simply and before anyone could protest, she rushed towards the door, opening it quickly and pulling one very confused diva inside.  
  
Dawn Marie froze on the spot. The first thing she saw inside the locker room door was Christian, Edge, then Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho, and.  
  
"Lita!" The brunette gasped half with relief and half with joy. She hadn't seen the other woman for at least 5 or 6 years, back when they were both in ECW. Sure they had both been in the WWE, before Lita had been injured, but they had both been on different shows and they'd never had time to meet up.  
  
"Hey Dawn," Lita pulled the smaller diva in for a hug, and smiled when it was gladly returned. She had always liked Dawn Marie. She had become fast friends with the slightly older diva back in ECW and they had always looked out for each other when things had been tough. But unfortunately they hadn't kept in contact when Lita had left the company, so seeing Dawn Marie right then was a welcome surprise for the former redhead.  
  
"Lita! Look at you. You look great! How have you been? I love the hair.-" Were the flurry of words that Dawn Marie rushed out. There was just so much they had to catch up on, but the diva had been aware of what had happened to Lita at last weeks SmackDown and then at Raw, so she knew that Lita probably didn't have time to gossip.  
  
"I'm fine, and you look great too Dawn." Lita smiled warmly and then turned to face the guys in the room.  
  
"Hi," Kurt and Edge said in unison, the blond nodded his head, whilst Angle gave a little wave. Neither of them knew the diva very well, but from what they'd heard and on the rare occasions that they'd spoken to her, they'd both come to the conclusion that she was a nice, honest person.  
  
"Hey you two, I thought you were fired? Well that's what Stephanie's told everyone." Dawn Marie rolled her eyes at the thought of her boss and Lita smirked. Kurt raised his eyebrows, interested in the new piece of information that Dawn Marie was sharing.  
  
"Really?" He said, urging her to continue.  
  
"Yeah, she said that you're both traitors and that you were never good enough to be on SmackDown and that if any of us saw you then we should attack you before you attack us, and that -um wait.that was where I fell asleep." Dawn Marie nodded tossing her long hair over her shoulder. Chris yawned as if to prove Dawn Marie's point and before Kurt could ask more questions, the blond jumped up from his spot on the table, extending his hand towards Dawn Marie and grinned maniacally. Lita had to stifle a laugh at his antics.  
  
"Hello I'm Chris Jericho, I've seen you on TV and you might not believe this but we've never actually met. I know you might think we have but it's a possibility that you may have been dreaming at that moment- don't feel embarrassed I get that all the time. It's not easy being a wrestler, a rock star, a presenter, a fashion icon, the King of 'bling bling', *and* being this damn gorgeous! But I manage. Oh and by the way, you look shorter in person." The blond grinned at the glares he was receiving, then shrugged, "What?" he added.  
  
Dawn Marie smirked. The blond Canadian sure was strange. "Um, okay. Definitely interesting to meet you, and I have seen you on TV too, Chris, but trust me, I have never and nor will I ever dream about you." She smiled sweetly, as Jericho shrugged and plopped himself on a chair. Christian jumped up, seeing this as his opportunity to introduce himself.  
  
"Hi I'm Christian, I'm not as bone-headed as Jerky there. It's nice to meet you." He nodded, shaking the woman's hand.  
  
"Nice to meet you Christian. You're Edge's brother right?" She asked, glancing to and from the Canadians as though she were trying to spot the similarities. She noticed that they'd both shifted uncomfortably at her words, and then raised a curious eyebrow when Lita had chosen that moment to change the subject.  
  
"Dawn, you couldn't do us a favour could you?" Lita asked hopefully, and the SmackDown diva frowned slightly.  
  
"What sort of favour? It won't get me fired will it?" Dawn Marie bit her lip in worry and looked pointedly over at Edge and Kurt.  
  
"Nobody will find out." Lita assured her, but she still didn't look convinced, "Listen Dawn, there are a few things I'm going to tell you and you have to promise me that they won't be repeated to anyone."  
  
Dawn Marie swallowed nervously. The last thing she wanted was to be caught up in the middle of a dangerous war. She looked at the guys in the room, then at Lita. She really should help them out. They were her friends, - well Lita was - and as far as she was concerned, Stephanie McMahon deserves every horrible thing that happens to her.  
  
"Okay, I promise."  
  
~  
  
Eric Bischoff and Stephanie McMahon stood facing each other in the middle of the ring, both obviously not thrilled at the situation, but they knew they had a job to do. They'd also both reluctantly signed an agreement, that in the last few days up until Judgement day, neither could harm each other, nor have their wrestlers attack either one of them. So Eric knew he was safe on SmackDown that evening.  
  
"Shut up!" Bischoff yelled through a microphone at the booing crowd and nodded towards Stephanie.  
  
"Thank you Eric." Stephanie said, and continued "Now I know everyone's surprised to see us both standing here in the middle of the ring, talking civilly, especially after what I did to Eric Bischoff on Raw last week." She smiled and Eric frowned at the memory, ".anyway, we have both signed an agreement not to harm each other."  
  
"That's right." Eric nodded. Stephanie glared at him for interrupting her. SmackDown was, after all, her show.  
  
"What we're here to do tonight is announce the matches for Judgement Day, live on SmackDown."  
  
The crowd cheered at the mention of the Pay-Per-View and then died down, when Stephanie raised her hand to speak, but instead of doing so, she gestured towards Eric who threw her a rather surprised look.  
  
"Um, well then I guess I'm going to announce the first match, which is going to be for the light-heavyweight title. It will be Rey Mysterio representing SmackDown and for Raw it will be-.Jeff Hardy." He smiled and the crowd erupted, Stephanie glared at him again. She didn't know that he was going to choose the rather unstable Hardy to take on Rey. SmackDown was so going to win that match.  
  
"The second match is going to be for a title that you'd all thought you were never going to see again. An infamous title that a superstar never wants but always wishes he'd had it. The Hardcore Championship, and it will be a fatal four-way." The crowd loved what Stephanie had to say, and the General Manager loved the fact that the crowd wasn't booing her for a change. "Representing SmackDown, will be. Billy Gunn and Matt Hardy."  
  
Eric raised his eyebrows. He'd never thought of Billy as hardcore material, Matt maybe but not Billy, but who cared, he had someone that was definitely a little extreme. "And representing Raw, will be the slightly crazy Tommy Dreamer, and the even more crazy Hurricane."  
  
"The next match will be for the tag-team Championships" Stephanie grinned. She had full confidence in her team, "so both shows tag championships will be merged together. Therefore it will be Raw's champion's the Dudleys, taking on the 'worlds greatest tag-team' Charlie Haas and Benjamin Shelton." The grinned at the uncomfortable look on Eric's face at the mention of two of the men who attacked him on Raw. Shaking his head he proceeded to announce the next match.  
  
"The Intercontinental Championship and US championship, will be merged. So it will be the US Champion Eddy Geurrero in the SmackDown corner, taking on the Intercontinental Champion, Chris Jericho." He wondered about that match, he really did. It would be worth a watch that was for sure, as both men were fond of a little thing known as 'cheating'. "Actually I propose this be a no-disqualification match."  
  
Stephanie must have known what he was thinking, because instead of arguing she simply nodded. "Good idea Bischoff, I didn't know you had it in you to be smart."  
  
"Shut up" Eric spat.  
  
"If I did that, I wouldn't be able to announce the next match, which is going to be a good one. It's for the Woman's Championship. Which means it will be Lita." Eric frowned at the way she said his daughter's name, ".taking on me, Stephanie McMahon."  
  
"What?!" Bischoff yelled, wondering what the hell she was playing at, "you can't do that!"  
  
"Oh I can Eric, and I also have a special guest referee," She smirked at his outraged look, "My darling brother, Shane McMahon."  
  
Eric shook his head and paced, "you know what? Have your damned match, because Lita is going to kick your ass! And she'd going to have me in her corner." He grinned and Stephanie scowled.  
  
"Have it your way Eric, I'm still going to win."  
  
Ignoring her last comment, Bischoff continued, "The World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Championship will be the last title to be merged together. So we will see Brock Lesner for SmackDown, taking on the greatest Champion of all time, Triple H."  
  
Stephanie smiled, raising her hand to stop the cheering crowd once more. "Now for the main event. It will be a team of six superstars from SmackDown taking on a team of six Raw superstars. Whichever team wins, then their General Manager will be in control of not only their own show, but *both* shows." She paused to let the crowd cheer again, "Representing SmackDown will be Rhyno, Chris Benoit, Rikishi, A-Train, The Big Show and The Undertaker."  
  
Eric scoffed. His team was much better. "Representing Raw, will be Scott Steiner, Booker T, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, Kane and Goldberg." Stephanie nodded. She was expecting him to pick most of them. She would wait until the PPV to introduce the special guest referee for the match. Bischoff wouldn't know what hit him. "Okay Bischoff, well I guess there's only one thing left,"  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"As the Rock would say, and I quote: Just Bring It!"  
  
~  
  
"Hello there,"  
  
He looked up at the sound of the sultry voice, his eyes hovering on her curvy form. "What can I do for you?" He smirked, sending shivers up her spine, as he looked her up and down, clearly enjoying the view. She took a deep breath.  
  
"Big Show, I've seen you in the ring lately, and you impress me." She batted her eyelashes at him, and bit her lower lip in a seductive manner. He seemed to take the bait and grinned.  
  
"Well I'm not just impressive in the ring you know. I have many other uh- .'skills'." He stood, moving closer to her. So close that she could feel his breath on her face. She was lucky she had a strong stomach.  
  
"Well I figured a big man like yourself would maybe teach me a few 'moves'," she smirked running her fingers across his chest. He really was a big man, and he could effortlessly crush her in a thought, but he wouldn't, he was a man, and men like him were easy. "So what do you say? Big man."  
  
"Uh-.defiantly. I mean, yes I would." He said without giving any thought to why the woman in front of him was suddenly so keen. Obviously he was an irresistible guy.  
  
"Well come on then, we'll go to my locker room. Follow me." She winked and he obeyed, of course.  
  
So that was one down, and two to go.  
  
"Anything you say Dawn Marie. Anything you say."  
  
~  
  
"Just bring it? How cute." Bischoff stared at the brunette coldly and if looks could kill, then Stephanie would have been dancing with the devil right then.  
  
"Oh shut up and get out of my ring, we're done talking. You know I wish yo- "  
  
"Excuse me, Miss McMahon?" Came a voice, which grabbed both General Manager's attentions. It was Josh Matthews, on the titantron, and he looked slightly worried.  
  
"What? What's going on?" Stephanie demanded, upset that the interviewer had dared to interrupt her.  
  
"It's.um.you might want to see this." The camera focused on an object on the floor. A large object. A person. Stephanie's frown deepened when she realised that it was the Big Show. One of her team for Judgement Day, and he was unconscious on the floor. She threw a look at Eric who shrugged. He was just as puzzled as she was.  
  
"Who did this Josh?" She wanted to know, growing angrier by the second. Someone had just narrowed down her chances at winning on Sunday and she wanted to know who would dare to pull a stunt like that. Someone with a death wish perhaps.  
  
"I don't know, he was found like this. But I think there's something else you should see." Stephanie watched as the camera followed Josh down a corridor and into another locker-room. There was another unconscious wrestler and it was A-Train. Damn it. She was furious.  
  
"I can't believe this! Bischoff tell me you had nothing to do with this?" She growled and Eric shook his head. He didn't know what was happening, but he had to admit, he sure was enjoying it.  
  
"There better not be anybody else Josh," The young man gulped at her words and adjusted his glasses nervously.  
  
"Um.well.Miss McMahon there are three more,"  
  
"WHAT!?" She almost screamed, and Eric tried not to laugh. This was all too good to be true.  
  
"In the next room, Rhyno's been knocked out completely, and on the other side of the arena The Undertaker and Benoit have been found unconscious in their locker-rooms." Josh swallowed, wishing he were one of the ones who were unconscious just then. Anything was better than being on the 'billion dollar' bitch's bad side. What was that saying? Don't shoot the messenger?  
  
"Arrgh! Someone must have seen something?" The SmackDown General Manager shrieked. She couldn't believe that five members of her team were injured, and she'd only just announced them. Josh shook his head in answer to her question.  
  
"There was only this." He said, holding up a piece of paper and a white Lilly. Both Stephanie and Eric frowned when he read the note. "It says; 'In 3 days, you will be judged'."  
  
~  
  
Edge stood in front of the TV monitor perplexed at what he'd just seen.  
  
"Edge come on, we've got to get out of here now. Security are on the prowl, looking for-.well us!" Jericho told him, standing in the doorway to yet another unoccupied room. Lita was in front of him, waiting for Edge.  
  
"It's just, we took down Big Show, A-Train and Rhyno tonight, with Dawn Marie's help of course." Edge frowned and looked over at the other two.  
  
"Yeah so what Edge? We really have to go, the other's are waiting for us in the car." Lita pleaded with him, wishing he'd at least take a step towards the door. There'd be hell if they got caught.  
  
"So who took out the other two? 'Taker and Benoit? And that note?" He shook his head, and jumped a little when someone tugged on his arm.  
  
"Come on Edge, let's go." Chris dragged him from the room and out towards their car, which was a little over-occupied with Dawn Marie riding with them. Not that they minded. They'd rather her be safe with them then alone with Stephanie and her team of big raging monsters (AKA Big Show, A- Train and Rhyno). Dawn Marie was sure to be a target when they woke up.  
  
Christian started the engine and they pulled away slowly. Lita glanced out of her window as the SmackDown building got further away, and then she saw him. He was standing in the parking lot with the APA, and as they shook his hand, she noticed they were wearing their working gloves. So that was how 'Taker and Benoit had been beaten unconscious. She should have known. He'd be the last person anyone would suspect to do such a thing, and that's what made it so riveting.  
  
She watched him until he disappeared from sight and then turned back in her seat. She would see him again soon, in three day's time, then finally she and her husband would be reunited at last. 


	25. Last minute changes?

-2 hours to go-  
  
"You wanted to see me?" The man said, as he walked into the large office, closing the door behind him. He glanced from the older angry looking man, sitting behind his desk, to the tall calm muscular blond standing at his side.  
  
"Yeah I wanted to see you!" The older man snapped, going a little red in the face. He was never good at hiding his anger.  
  
"What about?" The man frowned innocently, although he knew exactly what it was about.  
  
"Oh cut the crap dammit!" The grey-haired man stood and leaned over the desk, trying to intimidate him, "That contract I signed! Will you tell me what it is?"  
  
"Okay, okay calm down Vince." The younger man smirked, intending to piss the other man off further.  
  
"Vince?" The infuriated man questioned.  
  
"That is your name, is it not?" He said, standing nose to nose with Vince.  
  
"Don't get smart with me. Have some respect dammit!" Mr McMahon spat, disgusted by the young man's cockiness. How dare he.  
  
"Respect? I'll never respect you." He said, with certain venom to his voice that made Vince shudder ever so slightly.  
  
"Hey!" The blond put his hand on the man's shoulder, making him take a step back.  
  
"Get your hands off me." He growled, not in the least intimidated by the fact that the blond was about twice his size.  
  
"You are nothing compared to this man," The blond said in a dangerously low voice, "He is billionaire, he could fire your ass and feed it to the birds. He owns you and everyone in this damn arena, so you better start puckering up pal."  
  
He stared coldly at the blond, then stepped back a little and turned back to Vince. "I see you've got Brock Lesner under your spell Vince. Just like you've got Stephanie running around trying to make you proud. But not me, I don't take orders from you anymore."  
  
"What do you mean?" Mr McMahon wanted to know the worry shining in his eyes. The other man smirked and moved closer so that he was again nose to nose with Vince.  
  
"What I mean is, I'm taking over," He smiled at the outraged look on Vince's face and continued, "You see the contract that you signed was no ordinary contract. It stated that today, on Judgement Day, that you Vincent Kennedy McMahon, will pass full ownership and control of the WWE over to me."  
  
Mr McMahon was in shock. He stood perfectly still and didn't say a word. That was the last thing he'd expected to hear from the man. He'd thought that maybe the contract had been to book a match that he hadn't approved of- but he hadn't expected this. Not from him.  
  
Brock Lesner was lost for words too. He felt embarrassed that he'd stuck up for Vince and he wasn't even the boss anymore.  
  
"How could you." Vince almost whispered, and the man laughed.  
  
"Well it was easy really, but that's not the point." He looked from Vince to Lesner, and back to Vince again, with a gleam in his eye, "I have a Pay- Per-View to hold in approximately 1 hour and forty five minutes, and I believe there are some things we need to discuss about a few of the matches, don't you think?"  
  
~  
  
-1 hour to go-  
  
"I can't do this!" Lita paced frantically outside in the arena hallway, whilst Batista tried to clam her down.  
  
"You can do this, it's only Stephanie McMahon, you can beat her easily, even if her brother is the referee." He said, and took her arm to stop her pacing, "Just take a few deep breaths and you'll be fine. Honestly, I've never seen you so worked up before."  
  
"It's not because of the match, there's more to it than that." She ran her fingers through her hair and frowned.  
  
"No there isn't Lita. As far as I see it, you just win the match and retain the title. Everything will be fine."  
  
"But-" Lita protested but Batista raised his hand, cutting her off.  
  
"No buts Lita. You're going to win this. Now you're still part of Evolution, so I could accompany you out to your match if you want?" The wrestler suggested, but the diva shook her head. She didn't need any help.  
  
"No, I already have Eric out there, so I'll be okay."  
  
Batista tilted his head and frowned, "And you trust him, after the stunt he pulled?"  
  
"Not at all. But you have to trust me. I know I'll be okay, and I know I'll win the match." Lita shot him a small smile, and Batista nodded. It wasn't the match that she was worried about.  
  
"You see now that's the spirit!" He grinned and ruffled her hair, "Are you coming to join everyone in the Raw room? Your friends Jeff and Trish are in there," he added.  
  
"Um.actually I'll join you guys in a bit. I'm going to get a soda, and before you say anything, I'll be fine on my own."  
  
"Okay, but be careful, there are SmackDown guys roaming around." He said before turning and walking down the corridor. Lita rolled her eyes at his retreating form and then walked in the other direction. She stopped outside a door, and after checking that he hall was clear, she knocked seven times. After a couple of moments, the door opened and she stepped inside, closing and locking it behind her.  
  
"How are you guys holding up?" She asked them as she looked at the wrestlers sitting around in the room. Kurt Angle and Steve Austin both nodded in her direction, from the sofa. Dawn Marie was sitting at a table, talking with Jericho and Christian, and Edge was standing at Lita's side.  
  
"We're okay, are you?" Edge asked, those green eyes of his staring down at her. She held his gaze for a moment, then scowled.  
  
"I'm fine, why shouldn't I be? Beating Stephanie McMahon, shouldn't exactly be hard." She folded her arms and focused her gaze onto the TV monitor in the room, where Coach and Al snow were presenting a live edition of Sunday Night Heat.  
  
"Are you not even worried about Shane McMahon calling the match?" Edge asked, raising his eyebrows and Lita smirked.  
  
"No." She said and shrugged. Edge frowned at her sudden attitude and shifted his gaze towards the door. After a moment of silence he looked up at the diva again.  
  
"I see you're ready for you're match," He said, referring to her black trousers and 'Evolution' T-shirt, which she had tied at the bottom to keep in place. She looked at him, and then at the others in the room. They were all clad in their wrestling gear too.  
  
"I see you guys are ready too." She pointed out, finding it hard to tear her gaze away from the blonde's muscular bare chest.  
  
"Yeah, we know what we're supposed to do tonight. I just can't wait to find out who this new owner is." Edge said, studying the former redhead's face. He'd have been lying if he'd said that he wasn't worried about her. She seemed pretty unstable at that moment.  
  
"Edge, you know I can't tell you anything." Lita apologised, but Edge nodded.  
  
"I just can't wait until Stephanie and Bischoff both get what the deserve tonight," The Canadian grinned and Lita smiled, although deep down she couldn't help but feel more than a little uneasy.  
  
"Yeah me too. Well I'd better be going. Must go join the Raw roster - and you two," She called over to Jericho and Christian, "You guys better be coming too, Eric will expect you to be there."  
  
Christian jumped up from his seat and Jericho followed him, groaning because he actually had to move.  
  
"Coming Madame!" Chris saluted, and waved bye to the others as he left the room with Christian and Lita.  
  
~  
  
- 35 minutes to go-  
  
"Okay everyone, so we all know exactly what we're doing tonight right?" Stephanie asked her roster, who were all gathered in the SmackDown meeting room. Some nods, and a few 'yeah's were the replies Stephanie received, but that was satisfying enough for her. She was lucky really, that some of her team had even made it considering the attacks that had occurred on SmackDown a few days ago. Rikishi had been the lucky one, taking a day off, but the others in the main event hadn't been so lucky. The Big Show had a concussion, but was competing regardless. There was actually only one of her team that couldn't wrestle and that was Rhyno. He'd ended up with a few broken ribs and a broken ankle, and Stephanie couldn't help but think of Edge and Kurt and the reality that they may have been the culprits who'd done this. But Stephanie couldn't worry about that just then. She needed another man on her team, and she needed to find her champion, Brock Lesner, he'd been missing all evening.  
  
"Sorry I'm late, did I miss anything?" Came a voice from the door and the brunette was relived to see Lesner enter the room. He took a seat next to Eddy Guerrero, putting his title on his lap.  
  
"That's okay Brock, I was worried that you'd run out on me for a moment." Stephanie sighed, now all she needed was another good wrestler to walk in and announce that he was going to be on her team. She glanced at the door. Nothing happened. Oh well.  
  
"Everybody listen." The General Manager called for silence and then spoke, "Now you've all got someone to accompany you at ringside right?" She watched as a few of them nodded and some looked around worriedly.  
  
"We're supposed to have Heyman, but he hasn't shown up yet," Benjamin Shelton shrugged. Stephanie frowned. Where was Heyman? Things were going from bad to worse.  
  
"Damn him," the brunette muttered, "okay, well what about Eddy? You have Chavo with you right?"  
  
"Yep," Eddy smirked and muttered something in Spanish to his nephew. He was looking forward to his no disqualification match. I would make cheating a lot more-.well legal.  
  
"That's good, and Matt, you've got Shannon. Billy you're with Torrie," The billion-dollar princess was claming down slightly. Maybe it wasn't as bad as she thought. "Rey what about you?"  
  
"Um," the small wrestler shifted uncomfortably under the brunette's gaze, until-  
  
"I'll go out there with him,"  
  
Rey threw surprised, yet grateful look over at Nidia, which was more than what could be said for Jamie Noble who didn't look happy at all.  
  
"Well that's settled then. Brock and myself have people with us tonight, so everything should be ready." Stephanie smiled, clasping her hands together.  
  
"Uh- I think you're forgetting something." The Undertaker looked at her pointedly and motioned towards the five guys in her supposedly 6-man team. Shit. She'd almost forgotten about that.  
  
"Uh- well-"  
  
"No fear, Heyman is here." The fat man grinned as he entered the room, "and I come bearing gifts."  
  
"It's about time you showed up, I need-" the General Manager's frown was replaced by a broad smile as another man followed Heyman into the room. It was perfect, "Well, well, Rob Van Dam, how do you feel about being in the main event?"  
  
~  
  
-15 minutes to go-  
  
The atmosphere was different in the Raw room, and the only one who could have known that for sure without getting beaten up was Vince McMahon. However he was avoiding both rosters. He had his own problems to worry about.  
  
As soon as she'd entered the room, Lita had joined Evolution, who were occupying a round wooden table in the centre of the room. Almost everyone on the Raw roster was there. Jeff sat with the Dudleys, Tommy, Trish and Stacy Keibler? That was new. Chris and Christian had grabbed a couple of chairs in the corner of the room away from everyone. Shawn Micheals, Kane and the rest of the main event team were sat together with a few others, like Goldust and Maven. The Hurricane and Lance Storm seemed to be in a very lively conversation with Molly Holly and Ivory, and Lita chuckled when she saw Molly slap Storm.  
  
"Have you seen Mr Bischoff?" Everyone looked up at Chief Morely as he burst through the door.  
  
"Yeah, older man, dark hair, bad attitude." Triple H replied with a smirk.  
  
"No I mean do you know where he is?" Morely frowned, clearly not liking the joke.  
  
"Yeah, look," Kevin Nash pointed at the large Television set in the room, "he's being interviewed by Terri on Heat." Morely looked at the TV then left the room almost as quickly as he'd burst in.  
  
"Do you think something's happened?" Batista said and the Game snorted.  
  
"Nah, he's just being an idiot, probably had too much caffeine." The champion took a mouthful of his water and Lita sent a worried look Batista's way.  
  
"I hope you're right." She muttered. Triple H looked her over and smirked.  
  
"You're going to kick the shit out of the bitch tonight." He said changing the subject, clearly pleased at the thought of Lita going up against his ex- wife. He was going to enjoy that match so much.  
  
"Well you've got your own match to think about tonight remember?" Batista said and Triple H shrugged, taking another mouthful of his water.  
  
The door to the room opened a second later and Bischoff walked in, with Chief Morely at his side. He looked around the room and then over at Jeff Hardy.  
  
"The first match is up in five." He told them. Everyone wished the high- flyer good luck, as he made his way over to the door, stopping in front of the Raw General Manager.  
  
"Good luck out there." Eric smiled and offered his hand, but the youngest Hardy looked at him in disgust. There was no way he was going to shake hands with the bastard, no way in hell. Eric looked slightly uncomfortable for a minute, then pulled back his hand, embarrassed.  
  
Lita walked over to them and reached for Jeff's arm, "Hey Jeffrey, good luck," she smiled at her best friend and he pulled her in for a hug.  
  
"Thanks," he nodded. The former-redhead frowned for a moment, then asked.-  
  
"You're not going out there alone are you? I mean you never know what kind of stunt Stephanie might pull," her worried eyes, met his strangely calm ones and he grinned down at her.  
  
"I'll be at ringside," Lita turned to stare at Stacy Keibler and then looked back at Jeff, not bothering to hide the surprise on her face, "I know I'm not very great a wrestler, but I can do distractions very well," Stacy offered. The tall blond diva knew that the Woman's Champion didn't like her, and it was pretty much vice versa, but if she could help out in any way that night, then she would.  
  
"Oh, okay," Lita said simply, then smiled, "Well in that case be careful out there, both of you." She added and then they left the room, headed for the ring. The diva looked at Bischoff and Morely, then at everyone else.  
  
"Well what are we all waiting for?" she grinned, "We have a match to watch!" 


	26. Champions, Trashcans, and Family Reunion...

The crowd erupted in applause. The Raw room was almost deafening.  
  
"The winner of the match and the new Light-Heavyweight Champion, Jeff Hardy!" Lillian smiled brightly as she announced the young man's name. She was glad he'd won...not that she had anything against Rey Mysterio, it was just that Jeff was her friend, and she was on the Raw roster too, so she couldn't help being biased.  
  
Jeff held his title high, as a beaming Stacy Keibler raised his free arm in victory. They were both hurting though. Rey Mysterio was one hell of a competitor and Nidia had given Stacy a beating of her own outside of the ring. But regardless of the curly haired diva's interruptions, Jeff had managed to dodge the 619 and shortly pull off the perfect Swanton Bomb for the pin.  
  
Rey had respectfully shaken Jeff's hand, and then scrambled to the back, with Nidia scowling behind him, clutching her jaw, from where Stacy had punched her.  
  
"You did it Jeff! Now we're one match up!" Stacy squealed with delight and flung her arms around Jeff's neck. Stumbling back a little, Jeff eased the excited diva off of him and then held the ropes down, so that they could leave the squared-circle.  
  
Stopping at the top of the ring for one more pop from the crowd and one more "Woo!" from The King, The two Raw superstars made their way to the backstage area and were greeted by a few of their fellow workmates.  
  
"Jeff you did it! Well done!" Trish practically bounced over to him and squeezed the life from the youngest Hardy.  
  
"Thanks Trish," the purple haired wrestler shook his head, a wide grin plastered on his face. Tommy Dreamer, Hurricane and Lance Storm all congratulated him in turn and agreed to have a celebratory drink with him later, if they survived their hardcore match. Storm had been brave enough to accompany Hurricane to the ring, whilst Trish had offered to go with Dreamer.  
  
"Well good luck for your match guys," Stacy smiled, and turned to leave them with Jeff at her side, but stopped short when she saw who was standing behind them...  
  
"Well, well, aren't you going to wish me luck too?" came Matt Hardy's Southern drawl, a rather cocky and self-assured tone to it. Jeff stared daggers at him, and noticed that his own former best friend Shannon was at Matt's side.  
  
"Actually yeah, why not," Stacy grinned at the older Hardy and linked her arm in Jeff's, "Break a leg, Matt," she winked and Jeff raised an eyebrow in amusement.  
  
"Shut up you stupid whore," Matt snapped, and the tall blond frowned, wishing she had the guts to punch him like she had done Nidia. Jeff was considering taking a shot at his older brother too, but didn't want an all out fight to occur right there in the hallway, especially where Stacy would be put in danger.  
  
"What's the matter Jeffy, haven't got the balls to hit your big brother huh? Maybe you should consider dying your hair yellow, the colour would look good on you," Matt tormented and Shannon laughed at his cheap jokes.  
  
"Just ignore him," Stacy told Jeff, and Matt decided to tease the young woman yet again...  
  
"Listen Stacy I know how you operate, let's say my room tonight at about eleven?"  
  
"Excuse me?" Stacy threw him a disgusted look, and the dark haired man smirked.  
  
"Okay seeing as it's you, I'll pay you in advance..." he dug into his pocket, and pulled out a paper note, "...got change for a dollar?"  
  
"That's it asshole." Jeff lunged for his brother, who was lucky he had Shannon around to shield him, "Out of my way!" Jeff growled. Stacy was trying her best to clam him down, but the young high-flyer was more powerful than she'd thought.  
  
Matt, however, found the whole thing hilarious. He was laughing so hard, that he barely felt the small tap on his shoulder. What he did feel, was the sharp pain through his cheek when he turned around, right into someone's small but powerful fist.  
  
"Ow!" He yelped as he stumbled backwards onto the wall behind him, nearly pulling Shannon over as he reached out to steady himself.  
  
"Creep." Lita muttered, shaking out her hand, which was stinging more than a little.  
  
"Thank you for that Li," Jeff grinned, and stepped past his brother.  
  
"You nearly knocked him out!" Stacy exclaimed with awe and patted the other diva on the shoulder, "well done."  
  
Lita shook her head, a smile replacing the frown she had developed when she'd heard Matt offer Stacy that dollar. The man really was an ass, and she'd used to think he was so perfect. "I was only coming to congratulate you on your match- which was fantastic by the way. But we'd better be heading back, I had to beg Eric to let me come meet you two. He said he doesn't want anyone to leave the Raw room, in case there were SmackDown guys lurking around." She glanced at Matt who was rubbing his cheek profusely, "Well I guess he was right."  
  
They began to walk back towards their room, stopping once when Matt called out to them.  
  
"Matt," Jeff sighed, glancing at his watch then back up at his brother, "I believe your match started about five minutes ago," he grinned as the older Hardy suddenly panicked, grabbed Shannon, and ran to the ring entrance. Idiot.  
  
We better go...don't want your father to worry now do we?" Jeff smirked, and Lita nodded with a grin, not catching the very confused look that Stacy was giving her just then.  
  
"Your father?" The tall blond questioned, wondering if they were talking about Rick Flair. After all the tough diva had to be in Evolution for some reason or other, and that seemed like a more than logical one. But that wasn't it...  
  
Lita shot Jeff a "thanks a lot big mouth" and sighed.  
  
"Yeah, my father the saint, who so happens to appear in the body of one Eric Bischoff."  
  
Stacy's jaw dropped open, then clamped shut again, and she raised her eyebrows instead, "Well I suppose that does explain a lot."  
  
~  
  
It was chaos. There were trashcans, road signs, a fire extinguisher, a ladder, two chairs, a table and a few kendo sticks occupying the squared- circle, as well as Tommy Dreamer, Matt Hardy and the Hurricane. Billy Gunn was on the floor outside, thanks to some brass-knucks, which Dreamer had kindly introduced to his forehead.  
  
Even Lance Storm and Shannon Moore had been doing their bit in the ring, -though they weren't in the hardcore match- but the ref had demanded they stayed at ringside like Torrie and Trish were doing, even though anything was perfectly legal in the match.  
  
"Come on Tommy!" Trish yelled, as Dreamer picked up one of his favourite weapons, the kendo stick, and proceeded to hit Matt Hardy numerous times, until he was rolling around on the floor in agony.  
  
The petite blonde diva had to jump out of the way, as Shannon suddenly plunged for Storm, almost getting her instead. She looked around frantically; noticing that Torrie Wilson had somehow climbed into the ring and given Hurricane the low blow. The bitch.  
  
Tommy turned quickly on hearing Hurricane yelp with pain, and glared daggers at Torrie, who obviously knew she was in trouble by the look on her face. Dreamer smirked, picking up a 'STOP' sign as Torrie backed away slowly.  
  
"Hey Torrie!" Trish called out, and the playboy cover girl turned around to see a flurry of blonde rush towards her and knock her harshly to the mat.  
  
"Spear!" The King's voice cried out, obviously getting excited that the diva's were in the ring, and if Trish wasn't busy pummelling Torrie's head with her fists, then she'd have heard JR's warning...  
  
Two strong-arms with an almost iron like grip, wrapped themselves around her tiny waist and arms, pulling her to her feet.  
  
"Let me go!" She screamed, as she saw that Tommy and the Hurricane were passed out in front of her.  
  
The diva kicked out furiously with her legs, but the grip was firm, and the person had no intention of letting go anytime soon. Damn them! Then she realised who was holding on to her...it was Shannon; it had to be, as Matt Hardy suddenly pinned the Hurricane right in front of her for the three count. The asshole.  
  
The oldest Hardy boy stood up and grinned at her, making her stomach turn in anger and disgust. She'd wanted nothing more than to slap the smirk off his face, but didn't get the satisfaction as she was suddenly thrust towards him and he had her trapped into a backwards headlock...which could only mean one thing...  
  
"Shit." Escaped her lips as he executed the twist of fate on the petite blonde diva, and the last thing she saw was his hand raised in victory by Shannon, before she passed out completely. 


	27. And Another Couple of Matches

"Brilliant Matt! That was simply brilliant!"  
  
Matt Hardy smirked at his boss' praises as he flashed his new Hardcore belt to the rest of the SmackDown roster. John Cena, the FBI and a few others, who didn't have a match coming up, opened some beers to celebrate.  
  
"And I love what you guys did to Trish, she deserved that for what she did to Torrie." Stephanie declared sparing a glance over at the busty blonde, whom was clutching at her ribs from where Trish had speared her, "Nobody attacks one of ours like that and gets away with it."  
  
"I agree," Heyman grinned "and now Charlie and Benjamin are going to do the same thing to the Dudley boys. Wish us luck."  
  
"The best of," Rob Van Dam nodded, but the SmackDown General manager sent Heyman a stern look...  
  
"You better not screw this up Paul...Your job depends on this win..." She smiled and added "No pressure though. Just kick their asses."  
  
"Will do." The fat man said quickly before leaving the room with the 'Worlds Greatest Tag-Team' following him. They would just have to make sure they do everything in their power to win the match.  
  
~  
  
"I'm sorry he did that, it's all my fault." Jeff sighed, putting a comforting arm around the petite blonde, who was rubbing at her neck, clearly in pain.  
  
"How is it your fault Jeff? You can't help it if your brother's a pain in the ass." Trish scowled at the thought of the elder Hardy.  
  
"Maybe that should have been pain in the neck..." Stacy quipped with a snigger, but frowned at the glares that Jeff and Trish threw her, "Sorry, bad joke."  
  
"Don't worry Trish, Matthew Hardy will definitely get what he deserves, I'll make sure of it." Lita promised and Trish seemed satisfied at the woman's statement. If Lita wanted something done, then she usually got it done, no matter what the consequences.  
  
"Hey, maybe Lita, you could punch him again like you did earlier!" Stacy smiled, clearly enjoying the memory. But Lita frowned at he blond, obviously not pleased that Stacy had said that loud enough so that most of the room had heard.  
  
"What's this about Lita punching someone?" Came a stern voice from behind the divas and Lita cringed knowing exactly whom the voice belonged to. She stood up from her position on the floor and faced the older man, who wore a frown that matched hers.  
  
"Nothing, I didn't punch anyone, Stacy's just kidding." Lita lied, smirking at her father as he eyed the group of them.  
  
"Whatever," Bischoff said, sceptically and he motioned towards the symbol on Lita's T-shirt, "Shouldn't you be with your group, instead of fussing around these lot?" he added bitterly and the diva rolled her eyes.  
  
"Cut the crap will you...I mean for heavens sake Eric, Raw and SmackDown are tying, one all at the moment, so maybe you should be concerned with the next match, instead of irritating me." Lita spat and Jeff grinned as Bischoff looked down at him. Straightening his jacket and clearing his throat, the Raw GM joined the crowd that were seated around the Television set watching the Dudley's in action.  
  
"Well, you told him." Trish smirked through the pain and Lita smiled, shrugging her shoulders.  
  
"Come on, let's go join those lot and cheer on Bubba and Devon."  
  
~  
  
Devon was unconscious outside the ring and Spike was out too, even though he wasn't in the match. Benjamin Shelton was rolling around on the mat after receiving the Bubba bomb and the referee was out cold- that meant that anything could go down...  
  
Paul Heyman passed Charlie Haas a steel chair and watched as the wrestler took a swing for Bubba Ray. But there was no contact. The oldest Dudley had managed to dodge the move, as well as yanking the chair from Haas' grip. Then he took a swing, and that one connected with the other wrestler's head sending him reeling to the mat.  
  
"That's for Lita!" Bubba yelled, before pinning him.  
  
1...2...?  
  
Bubba looked about; the referee was still out cold. Damn.  
  
Suddenly, the Dudley brother felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. Heyman had got into the ring and attacked him with one of the tag-team belts, then swiftly laid Charlie's arm over Bubba and left the ring, just as the referee had regained consciousness.  
  
1...2...3!  
  
"Here are your winners, and Tag-Team Champions, Charlie Haas and Benjamin Shelton." Lillian proclaimed over the microphone, in a much less enthusiastic tone than when she'd announced Jeff a winner earlier.  
  
Rubbing his head, Devon climbed back into the ring and helped up his brother. Then noticing that Charlie was still lying on the mat, there was a sudden gleam in Bubba's eyes.  
  
The crowd went wild! King and JR went wild! The Raw room went wild!  
  
"Devon?!..." Bubba yelled and Devon smiled, replying...  
  
"What?"  
  
"Get the tables!"  
  
The two Dudley's leapt from the ring, and entered again with two tables, although they only set up one. Then they stood ready to execute the 3-D; however, Heyman slid into the ring and rolled Charlie under the ropes, and out of harms way.  
  
Devon and Bubba glanced at one another. Oh well...they'd put Heyman through instead...that would be just as satisfying, if more so...  
  
Paul turned realising the predicament he had got himself into, but there was one thing the Dudley's hadn't counted on...  
  
Benjamin Shelton grabbed Heyman's legs and pulled him from the ring, and they walked backwards up the ramp along with Charlie Haas and their title belts, leaving the Dudley's cursing them in the ring.  
  
They'd won, and now SmackDown were up 2 to 1.  
  
Stephanie couldn't help but smile.  
  
~  
  
"Chris, good luck out there," Bubba said, holding an ice pack to the back of his head. Damn that Paul Heyman, he was so going to pay.  
  
Lita regarded the wrestlers as they all wished the King of 'Bling, Bling' luck for his match with Eddie Guerrero. If it had been a week earlier then none of her friends would have spoken to Jericho or Christian and vice versa. They'd all hated each other with a passion. Now there they were acting as if they were all the best of friends, and always had been. Not to mention the fact that she herself was talking to Stacy Keibler, whom she'd at one time, disliked with a passion. And come to think of it, wasn't the reason she'd hated Stacy because the blonde diva had flirted with her then-boyfriend, Matt Hardy? Oh yeah, things were definitely different.  
  
"Lita," Chris waved a hand over her eyes, breaking her thoughts. She smiled at him and he pulled her in for a hug.  
  
"Good luck and be careful," she said, then turned to Christian not really knowing him well enough to hug him so she just smiled, "You look after him out there, make sure Chavo doesn't get involved."  
  
"Sure thing babes, if Chavo puts one foot inside that ring, then I'm going to make sure he totally pays for it!" Christian nodded in delight at the thought.  
  
"Well then boys, what are you waiting for?"  
  
~  
  
"Come on Jericho, kick his ass!" Austin almost yelled at the television set. It had been a pretty even match so far, and neither Eddy nor Chris had attempted to use any weapons yet, despite the no disqualification rule.  
  
"Like he can hear you," Kurt muttered and Austin glared at the gold medallist.  
  
"Don't be so negative Angle," Steve smirked and Edge nodded his head.  
  
"The man's right Kurt, you should be yelling at the TV too," Edge grinned, earning a laugh from Dawn Marie.  
  
"Funny," Austin said, in a deadpan tone, then switched his attention back towards the match.  
  
Chavo and Christian were both in the ring too and were fighting it out. Jericho had finally managed to find himself a chair, which Lillian had practically handed to the Canadian.  
  
"That's it Jericho, knock his ass out!" Dawn Marie cheered when Chris hit Chavo with the steel. Kurt Angle raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Now she's started it too," he shook his head and Dawn Marie slapped his arm in a playful manner.  
  
"Stop spoiling our fun baldy," Dawn Marie smirked.  
  
"Hey!" Angle said, rubbing his head and looking hurt, "Don't diss the hair...or lack of."  
  
"I agree, after all it's not his fault he's bald." Austin smirked, rubbing his own head.  
  
"That's right, I didn't choose to be bald. I lost my hair in a match, and got it shaved off by that damn..." Kurt stopped short, as he met Edge's inquisitive look, "Um...by that...um, damn good wrestler, Edge."  
  
Edge grinned and so did Austin and Dawn giggled.  
  
"What the?" Kurt turned the others' attention back to the screen with his words, just in time for them to see Christian get hit hard with some brass knucks, by a laughing Eddie.  
  
"Asshole!" Edge stood, rage clear on his face, and he began to march towards the door. How dare those Guerrero's attack his brother, who did they think they were?  
  
"Edge!" Dawn Marie jumped up, running to block the man's path. She'd never seen him look so angry before.  
  
"Get out of my way," He told the woman. He didn't have time to stand around, not when his little brother was being mutilated in the ring.  
  
"Edge you can't, what about the plan? You can't go out there now!" The diva tried to reason with him, sending glances to Austin and Kurt who both just shrugged.  
  
"My brother's more important than a stupid plan!" The blond yelled, pushing past the woman and storming from the room.  
  
"Oh crap." Dawn Marie frowned.  
  
~  
  
"It's Edge!" Stacy pointed excitedly towards the screen, as she saw the blond Canadian run full speed down the ramp.  
  
"What?" Lita said, panic in her voice as she moved to get a better look. Yep, that was definitely Edge. What the hell did he think he was doing?  
  
"That's not fair, he's going to cost us the match!" Eric Bischoff frowned in anger.  
  
"Looks more like he's going to cost them the match," Shawn Michaels pointed out, as Edge nailed both Eddie and Chavo with a spear each.  
  
"He's not supposed to be out there yet is he?" Jeff whispered in Lita's ear, noticing the fury on the diva's face. She shook her head, biting her lip to stop herself from screaming out in rage.  
  
"He's going to ruin the whole plan," She grumbled, although everyone else suddenly cheered. Jericho had got the pin on Eddie thanks to Edge's interruption.  
  
"Yeah! That's two all now!" Stacy punched the air in victory and Eric Bischoff had a big smile on his face.  
  
"I'm surprised that Edge turned on his own roster. I'm sure Stephanie will love that!" Triple H smirked. He could only imagine the outrage on Stephanie's face.  
  
"He doesn't work for Stephanie." Lita snapped, and Hunter raised an eyebrow at her tone, "He was fired. Probably drove down here, hoping that if he helped Raw win a match, then he'd get a job. What a loser."  
  
Trish eyed the Woman's champion speculatively, as did the Dudleys and Batista. They'd all thought that Lita and Edge were friends, especially since Edge had lost his job saving her ass.  
  
But Jeff knew that she was just making sure that no-one suspected that Edge had arrived with her for reasons other than interfering in Jericho's match.  
  
"Yeah well he'll have to try harder than that to work for me." Bischoff declared smugly and Lita had to refrain from scowling at her father.  
  
"Damn right, the man's a jerk," She nodded, then changed the subject, "Anyway I have a match now, with the bitch."  
  
"Yeah I'm coming with you," Eric walked over to the door and waited whilst everyone wished the former redhead good luck.  
  
"Keep an eye on Flair will you?" Lita whispered as Batista hugged her.  
  
"The man won't leave my sight." He promised and Lita joined her father.  
  
"You better kick the hell out of the Slut!" She heard Triple H call out as she left the room, and she smiled...  
  
"Oh, I will. I definitely will." 


End file.
